


Knocked Up

by audreyslove



Series: Knocked Up [1]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-10
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-06 01:46:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 41,226
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25815265
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/audreyslove/pseuds/audreyslove
Summary: Oops best friends with benefits made a baby this is the tropiest shit you've ever read, get ready.
Relationships: Evil Queen | Regina Mills/Robin Hood
Series: Knocked Up [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1873051
Comments: 38
Kudos: 84





	1. Chapter 1

"You're…pregnant?"

"Eight weeks. It has a heartbeat."

She can’t even look at him. She sitting there on the sofa with her arms crossed, swaying back and forth like she is on the edge of a panic attack.

"But I thought—"

"My doctor used the world 'miracle'. A god damned miracle. Lucky me." She stops swaying back and forth only to bury her head in her hands and moan, "God this is a mess."

"So that's why you've been feeling so sick?"

It is a dumb question, but he's still in a fog, he has no idea how to respond.

She nods slightly.

"How… how are you feeling? I mean, I mean feeling about all this?"

"It's… I don't need anything from you. I don't want anything from you. I just told you because, I feel like you should know."

It isn't an answer to the question he had asked, but it certainly answered the question he did not dare to ask. There is no polite way to ask whether he is the father. It certainly isn't like they are exclusive. Hell, they are not even dating.

After nearly a decade of friendship, Robin and Regina had finally found themselves single at the same time, and had fallen into bed a few times. More than a few times. It had never been planned.

The first time was on a late night where he finally – _finally_ – felt he could bash Graham. He had wanted to do this for years, but there are some unwritten rules for best friends, and not bad mouthing one's significant other is definitely on that list.

When he had called to her to ask if she was going to David's barbecue that weekend, her voice kept breaking. She had tried to hide the fact she was crying that night, and he had told himself he should not pry – she would share what she wanted when she wanted, and it wasn't his business to interfere. But he couldn't help asking her what was wrong. And then she had tearfully admitted that Graham and she had broken up. And it was truly over this time.

Robin had insisted she come over, told her she didn't need to talk about it. They could just watch a movie and drink and order in. Hell, she could come in and yell at him, beat him, stare at the walls and refuse to interact with him – she could pretty much do anything but stay in her apartment alone, crying. That, he would not have.

They were midway through the second movie of the night (and second bottle of wine) when Regina opened up about where things had left off with Graham.

Ironically, Graham had told her the reason their relationship would not work was that he desperately wanted children of his own, and Regina could never give him that. He didn't see the point of getting emotionally invested when there was an end to this. He didn't want to adopt. He didn't want to try egg donors or surrogates. He wanted a baby of his with his wife, traditionally, and Regina can not provide that, so he wanted it over.

And as she told this to Robin that night, admitting it had happened weeks ago but she hadn't had the strength to tell anyone else (everyone would know at that damned barbecue), as she cried into her wine (there was so much wine that night, 3 bottles at least at this point), Robin reminded her this was a good thing, because that Graham was not worthy of her, anyway.

Graham never appreciated her cooking and made horrendous jokes about how he wished she would just order a pizza for once, when there'd be a gourmet meal that took time and effort right in front of his face. Graham's favorite movie was Fast and Furious. Or was it Fast and Furious, II? Graham had rolled his eyes and became annoyed when Regina would get that spark, that hint of attitude that made her so bold and daring and alive. He had disliked it, wanting a more demure woman. Graham had never appreciated the thousand little things that made Regina "Regina", and Robin made it clear that night that he had been glad, very glad, that Graham had left her. After all, had Robin let her know that he had always worried that Graham would convince Regina to change in some way, or at least hide her true self, and that would be a shame. Because Regina is pretty much the perfect woman. Gorgeous, kind, brave, loving, clever, Regina has everything, and Graham is a blind asshole not to notice.

All of that had spilled out of him at once, after years of bottling it in. He poured emotion into his words, hoping she appreciated his honesty. And it had worked, enough, got her to stop crying at least.

And then she had kissed Robin.

He had returned the gesture eagerly, responding with his body now that the alcohol had dulled his better senses. Before he could even process what was happening, she had removed his clothes and straddled him, grinding into him, moaning and telling him how good he made her feel. And he had responded with everything he had, kissing her everywhere he could touch her, until she was begging him to fuck her hard, and she was panting and moaning, needy and aggressive, so fucking hot he had to bite his lip to hold himself back from coming too soon, even with all the alcohol he had drank that night.

If he had thought more about it, he would have waited that night. Told her he would not be her rebound because she was more to him than that. He'd have been braver. But it had happened, and when he awoke with her in his arms, she was smiling at him, kissing him, telling him thank you. She ran to the bathroom, came back showered and changed, gave him a kiss on the cheek, and left.

The second time was just four days later. It was David's barbecue, and she had a few beers before she sat next to him on the bench, grabbing his hand with her free hand, a beer in the other.

"I guess we need to talk," he had said, because, didn't they?

She had just scrunched up her anise adorably and had stared off into the wooded area behind David's home, asking, "Do we have to?"

"I… don't you need to talk about it?"

"It happened, we're still friends, right? It doesn't have to happen again and it doesn't have to change anything."

But it had happened again just a few hours later. She had asked Robin to take her home, but when he dropped her off she was hesitating before getting out, finally admitting that she didn't really want to be alone just yet. So he had decided to come up and join her, just to talk.

She had popped on the TV and had laid her head against his shoulder on the couch, like she was melting into him, and he had been so happy at that point (god, he’s in love with her) that he kissed the top of her head, and she had responded with a kiss on his cheek, which he answered with a kiss he meant for her cheek that had landed on her neck, and she shuddered, looking at him like that, and that was the end of even pretending these kisses were innocent. It was a slower, sweeter time that night. He had taken his time with her, and she let him get to know her body, search and explore what she liked, what she needed. She had responded in kind, her body kissing and caressing him, taking him in her hands (and later her mouth) until she found the exact touch, the exact rhythm that made him crazy. They had been multiple times that night, without so much as a conversation about what they were doing to one another.

And if, in the heat of the moment, he told her she was perfect to him, and that she was the most beautiful woman in the world, that was just pillow talk, wasn't it? And if she said she had wanted him so badly, that he was so _fucking hot_ , she was just flattering him, wasn't she?

She had asked that they not talk about it, so he hadn't. It killed him a little, but he hadn't talked about it any of the subsequent times they wound up in bed together. He held back from baring his soul to her, telling her how it made him feel to have her in his arms, loving her, but not knowing if each time would be the last. He did his best not to burden her with this so close to a breakup.

It was only after the third night that they wound up in bed together that Regina so much as talked to him about what they were doing. She had been lying on his chest, skin still glistening with the sweat of their very recent, far too incredible sex, her breath still labored, when she told "I really like this."

His mind had flashed through the three, very obvious, very vocal orgasms she had that night. He chuckled a bit. "You don't say."

She had whacked his head playfully, turned her head down, and he sensed a hint of embarrassment from her, so he added quickly "I really like this too."

"You're good at this." She had offered the compliment quietly, still not looking at him, still laying on his chest, breathing in.

"Did you ever have any doubt?" Robin had proudly asked.

He can still remember the way Regina lifted herself to face him, can still remember that adorable half scowl, half smirk. "You're my friend. I don't – I didn't ever think about you this way, before…wait, did you think about me?"

"I'm a guy,” he had told her sheepishly, his cheeks burning. "And you are my friend, my very hot friend,” pausing for a second to add, “you're even better than I imagined to be honest."

That had made her happy. He remembers that much, she had looked touched, lighter than she had in awhile, before she pretended to be offended, of course.

"I don't want our friends finding out about us." she pressed on. "It's just, I don't want them to make more out of this than it is. I just want to keep this fun and casual."

"Fine by me." He had promised. And it was fine, as long as he could still have her.

"I mean, if it even happens again." She had added (always reminding him that this may end at every moment).

And that had been their only talk about their friends-with-benefits arrangement.

But she was kidding herself if she thought it wasn't going to happen again, and after that night there were many stolen glances, many times his hand touched her legs under the table while they ate dinner with their friends, times they were grabbing each other to a semi private place for a heated makeout session while everyone else waited for them just out of eyesight.

And now here they are, after months of…whatever it was they are doing, here she is. Pregnant. With a miracle. And the irony was they would never have slept together to begin with had she not gotten that (obviously very wrong) infertility diagnosis.

"What do you want to do now?" Robin asks, coming back down to earth after a few moments of silence, to process this.

Regina is still shaking, still won't look at him. He goes to put his arm on her shoulder and she winces at his touch.

"Regina, look at me." But she will not meet his gaze.

"I'll support you in any decision you make,” he promises, trying to get her to turn to him. "Anything you want – except… if you decide to keep it, let me be a part of his or her life. Let me be a real father."

And then she looks up at him, her eyes are bloodshot, filled with tears. "You want to be…involved?"

He nods his head vigorously, and she can't help but laugh. "I've always wanted kids, and it might not be the ideal situation or the ideal time, but I have no doubt we'd raise a wonderful child. But…I'm not pushing you. You can decide whatever you want with regards to this pregnancy."

She takes a deep breath and looks down at her lap. "I feel like I was just granted a wish, and it came true at the worst time, under less than ideal circumstances. I wanted to be married, settled…"

"I'll marry you."

He means it, and he knows that she can tell just by looking at him. There’s a moment there, a silent acknowledgement of _feelings_ , and he holds his breath waiting for her to respond. But she only laughs and waves him off.

"No no, I don't need that. I just… I feel like I can't let this baby go. It might be my only shot."

"Then let's do this."

He's shocked by how excited he is – all the fear seemed to melt away into this anticipation for something new in his life.

"Thank you" Regina says, her body finally relaxing, going soft, looking at him. "This could have been so much harder. Now all I have to do is tell my family that I'm pregnant with no husband, no fiancé, and not even a boyfriend." She laughs in that overwhelmed way, as if the whole situation is absurd. "Everyone's about to find out I'm a bit looser than they even imagined."

"I haven't slept with anyone else, since the first time we were together." Robin reminds.

Her eyebrow lifts and she responds "Neither have I… so?"

"We go out together, we make love—” Regina snorts at the phrase "make love" “– we make love, we do Regina…. and we're exclusive. You have a boyfriend. You've had one for several months."

"Robin…"

"Let me be there when you tell your parents. Deflect some of the anger. I'll play the part of the committed boyfriend, of course, not your casual sex friend." He winks at her, and she smiles again.

"What happens when I am say, six months pregnant, big as a house and puffy and gross, and you want to see someone else? If my mother finds out you're with someone while I'm pregnant…you know her. She will destroy you, humiliate you. You did not sign up for this. We're just friends."

"You're going to carry our child for nine months, I think I can handle a commitment to you for at least the same amount of time. And my bet is you are going to look beautiful at 6 months pregnant." He would bet his life that she'd be beautiful to him at 6 months pregnant, just like he bet she'd be beautiful to him thirty years from now. There was something about her, he’s just drawn to her. Always.

She rolls her eyes at the sentiment and sighs.

"Come on Regina, let me help you with this" he presses just a bit more.

There's a slight nod, this time, and he's surprised, excited. "Really?" She nods again smiling, looking at him.

"It would be so nice to have you there when I tell them," she admits.

"Great."

"I'm so sorry, you have no idea how sorry I am, I feel like I ruined your life—"

"Do I look like a man whose life has been ruined?" He's smiling, a goofy, big smile, and he knows Regina hadn’t expected this reaction to an unplanned pregnancy. She looks completely shocked.

It's not ideal, in an ideal world, he would have married Regina Mills years ago, maybe this would be their second child. In a slightly less ideal world she would simply love him back, and know that he loved her, and they could raise this child as a committed couple. But there were worse things in life than having a child with your best friend, your best friend who you are in love with, your best friend who may not love you back right now, but maybe will one day.


	2. Chapter 2

Regina doesn’t tell her parents right away.

"There's no need to tell anyone until this is more than just a possibility," she explains to Robin.

After twelve weeks, after the chance of miscarriage drops, after the results of her sonogram and screening for many genetic diseases or potentially fatal conditions…after that. If all goes well with that, she will tell them then. In a month. No need to worry them until it's real.

Regina had told Robin the same day she found out, finding she had to tell someone, and there was no one else she could tell, because there was no one else who knew she had been secretly fucking her good friend. She had a blood test to try to determine the cause of her illness, and the results had come back positive for HCG. She immediately called her OB/GYN and demanded a same day appointment. Once there, she interrogated them about the results, assuming this HCG would indicate something else, possibly some other type of disease, until a sonogram was offered. She doesn’t ovulate. This had to be a mistake.

But then it was on the screen, tiny, measuring 8 weeks, the size of a bean. But the little spot moving around looked bigger than life on that screen, the little blob had a recognized head and body, and when the doctor let her hear the child's heartbeat, Regina cried, as did the nurse in the room with her. It is real.

She had not gone back to work after the appointment. She could have handled the work day, but she could not have handled seeing Emma Swan so soon after this news.

If keeping the pregnancy from her family for the next month was easy, keeping a pregnancy from her friends, friends you see regularly, is quite another story. Especially keeping anything from Emma, who is not only her friend, but her best friend, and coworker.

Over the years, Emma had learned to read Regina quickly. She had immediately sensed something was wrong after every fight Regina had with Graham. She had been there to recognize a problem at every troublesome college party, every disappointing grade, every bad talk with her mother. Emma would only look at Regina for a moment before she’d be raising her eyebrow and asking "What's wrong?"

Emma had known something was wrong the moment Regina had gotten her fertility test results, months ago. She was the first to pick up on her foul mood after breaking up with Graham. Emma knew Regina, and it made it impossible for Regina to keep any semblance of a private life from Emma.

Emma's sixth sense worried Regina so much, she spent much of Sunday night and Monday morning in the mirror, practicing her "normal face", hoping to pass under Emma's radar for just a few more quiet weeks. Every inch of posture was analyzed in a mirror for possible tells – any indication that she was putting on a mask of false pleasantness, that she had anxiety, fear, and uncertainty buried within her.

When she is finally satisfied that she could conceal any of her inner turmoil, she takes a deep breath and makes the walk from her car into the crowded office. She congratulates herself almost immediately, proud of the smiles and good wishes she gets from others. No one suspected a thing.

Regina continues her walk to her office door, dredging up every happy memory she can think of to give the appearance of a good mood, managing to suppress all the fear and uncertainty of her pregnancy into her deep subconscious. She is stopped by the office manager, a cheery, chirpy type, who excitedly tells her about her weekend. The conversation leaves her feeling a bit brighter, a bit more confident that she’s properly concealed her anxieties. Thank god. She walks by Emma's office on the way in, giving her a smile and a wave.

"What's wrong?" Emma asks from her desk, and _fuck._ The woman had barely even looked up, but she must have seen something – felt something, and dear god she had a superpower.

Regina recovers from her shock quickly. "I think your spidy sense is off today. Nothing is wrong today. I'm in a good mood."

Emma rolls her eyes. "Mhm…So what did the doctor say?"

Right. When Regina started feeling ill two weeks prior to finding out she was pregnant, Emma had noticed the mood change immediately. "What's wrong?" she had asked, and Regina very bluntly told her that she must have a stomach bug, or maybe was on the verge of a migraine, because something made her queasy, sensitive to smells, tired, and feverish. After pulling all those symptoms out of her Emma had begged her to see a doctor. She was worried it was more serious. Ironically had Emma not pryed and got her to confess about her infertility diagnosis months ago, she probably would have guessed Regina was pregnant by now.

"No real diagnosis. Probably a stomach bug."

"Did they test you for mono?"

Regina looked at her, shocked and disgusted. "Mono? No, Emma, we are not teenagers. I'm a grown ass woman."

"Well the symptoms fit. And it is the kissing disease. And there's someone you've been with since you and Graham ended it. I'm not an idiot, I can tell."

Well, shit.

"Why are you so concerned with every aspect of my life?" Regina has been battling morning sickness since she woke up, and suddenly feels rather moody and thoroughly annoyed with her nosy, intrusive friend. "Get your own hobbies, Swan." With that she barrels into her office, sitting down with a huff.

"Regina…" Emma follows her, taking a seat right on the edge of her own desk. "You're my friend. I hate seeing you all guarded and angsty like this. Why do you feel the need to keep things from me? I always keep your secrets. And you know I make you feel better."

Regina gives her an obvious eyeroll. "Yes, you have the magic touch with me, and I am so wild beast you had to tame. Please, Emma, pat yourself on the back more."

It’s angrier and meaner than Emma deserves, and Regina feels… a little shitty about it.

But Emma is Emma, and only says. "Ok now I'm really starting to get worried. What is going on?" Guilt twinges at Regina’s side, because truly, Emma doesn’t deserve this when she’s been nothing but wonderful. She had slowly wormed her way into Regina's life. First as someone she decided she hated – the spunky little girl from the perfect family with the perfect boyfriend and the perfect instincts. Everything she tried she mastered, everything seemed to fall into place for Emma Swan. Soon Emma proved herself to be smart, strong, and not quite as lucky as she appeared. Regina grew to respect her, then to like her. When they both got a job at the same company after college, Regina had actually been happy that she worked with Emma. And now….years later….Regina has to admit that the woman standing in front of her was not only a friend, but a best friend, a friend who had gone out of her way to help and support her, who knew her better than anyone. Emma should be treated better than this.

"Sorry, I have absolutely no idea what is wrong with me. It is just that I am feeling _so_ miserable." She shakes her head.

Emma shrugs, as if understanding, then asks. "Who's the dude?"

Regina groans. "I'm…not ready to talk about him."

"So there's only one guy, no random hookups?"

"No, just one guy. But it's meaningless, Emma, it's just sex."

"So you're going to just sleep with him one day, decide it's over, and never see him again?"

Regina scoffs, a snarky answer on the tip of her tongue. "Well of course not, I'm not cutting him out of my life when the sex stops."

"So he's _in_ your life enough that to stop seeing him you'd need to…"cut him out", huh? Who is this guy, I'm assuming I know him. I bet I could guess who it is."

Shit. Emma should be a god damned prosecutor.

"Please Emma…you're giving me a migraine."

"Fine. Tell me when you are ready. But something is wrong."

.::.

Regina leaves work early that day and calls Robin. Robin has one of those wonderful federal nine-to-five jobs, yet his salary is more than most of her friends pulling extra hours day and night.

"Hey…how'd it go?" Robin asks, knowing she had been worried to return to work.

"Emma's asking questions and thinks I have mono."

Robin's laugh brings a smile to her lips too, as she appreciates the absurdity of the situation.

"Oh Emma. So close and yet so far away."

"She knows I've been seeing someone. She said so. She's going to figure this out before 12 weeks. I think… I'm not ready to tell anyone yet. Especially… about us. If that's okay?"

"Anything you want to do is okay with me." Robin assures. "So tell her to mind her own business. Our friends will understand that you don't want to share this right away. It happens all the time."

Regina can't pretend to have a stomach bug for long, and a week after her pregnancy diagnosis, she decides she had to stop backing out of events and parties with her friends.

"I'm goin on Thursday."

There's a pause on the phone. "Really?" he asks

"Obviously I won't drink."

"So you'll tell them then?"

"No I'll just…act normal. Minus the drinks." She pauses and then adds "you're coming, right?"

"If you are? Of course I am. Regina, love, you know I wouldn't call you a lush, but not drinking at a party, that's…"

"I'll tell them I'm on antibiotics for a cold. Or I'm not feeling well. Or I'm on a cleanse."

"The alternative is you just don't go."

"It's Mary Margaret's birthday. I'm not going to miss it because I'm afraid people will pay attention to my drinking habits."

"Alright" he concedes, though his tone sounds unsure. "Are you feeling ok?"

"A little better, actually. Smells are still making me gag."

"Do you need anything?"

"No, I'm set."

She hears his sigh and knows he doesn’t quite believe her.

.::.

Regina is almost perfect in Robin’s eyes, but she has a few flaws. One is that she is not good at asking for things, he’s known this about her for years now. He's always the one asking for her help. He's the one who had confessed to her he didn't know what he was doing in their accounting class, three days before a mid-term, and she had immediately cancelled a night out to teach him the entire class. In those late nights, during study breaks, he had shared more with her than he had with any other woman. He admitted his semester had been a mess after his breakup from Ana. The simple truth was he wasn't over her yet despite the fact they had only dated for a few months, and their relationship wasn't particularly close. Regina had listened, and then suggested the break up might be more of a blow to his ego than a blow to his heart, and he had realized all at once that she was right. He talked to her about his family, his other subjects, his fears for the future… everything.

Regina never seemed to need help, and Robin began to think she was almost robotic in her perfection, so capable, so above him, until he learned more of what she went through. She had plenty of obstacles, plenty of demons, but she never asked anyone to help her. One had to know her well enough to help without being asked.

"What are you going to eat for dinner?" Robin asks, suspicious.

"None of your business," she responds, but not sharply, almost sweetly, as if she knows why he’s asking.

"You're feeding my future baby, Regina. And this weekend you were gagging every time you went near the kitchen."

"Only because you were cooking stir fry. And that morning you made eggs and bacon."

"Right, the smell of delicious bacon, how disgusting," he laughs at her stubborness. "You barely had any food at your place when I was over. Let me just pick you up and take you to mine and cook you whatever you want."

There's a pause and then she says "Grilled cheese?" and he compliments her choice and picks her up.

He says nothing when she brings an overnight bag (he doesn't want to say anything that might make her change her mind and go home), though he is glad to see it. She'll fall asleep on the couch, or in bed with him, because she is clearly so exhausted these days. She'll wake up and take the metro to work, and she's closer to work from his place anyway.

She stays with him on Tuesday and Wednesday night as well. He calls and invites her both times, and she agrees to come over. There's nothing sexual happening between them, he has no idea whether he has the right to touch her in that way anymore. But Regina, the person who had always been so infuriatingly independent , the person who became icy when being confronted with anything sentimental or overly emotional, was suddenly softer, easier.

He makes her dinner and she smiles and says something about him spoiling her, and before he can think better of it, he quickly responds that he likes taking care of her. He worries she will take that the wrong way, but she only giggles and squeezes his hand.

It is a far cry from times in the past where she had taken his acts of kindness as insults, insisting that she was "perfectly capable" of putting together furniture herself, carrying her own groceries, hanging her own pictures. She had been like that for years, with everyone she encountered, but since she told him of the pregnancy he was enjoying the warm, different version she was showing him — and only him, and he was falling more deeply in love with her every moment she was near him.

.::.

Mary Margaret's surprise birthday takes place at their favorite bar. A room has been rented out back, half of the room inside, another half leading out to a private outdoor area. cake, a few more of her favorite appetizers, and some of her friends from out of town who made this special trip back.

Regina smiles as she sees Ruby in a cocktail dress that barely covers her ass. Ruby is Mary Margaret's best friend from childhood, and had been a frequent visitor in the apartment Regina and Mary Margaret shared in college. Seeing Ruby usually meant a weekend of crazy adventures, and as much as Regina had pretended to be annoyed by her free spirit and loose morals, she is always glad for the weekends when Ruby visits and she has an excuse to let loose.

Ruby is a hugger, and jumps on Regina immediately, not caring that Regina is clearly and incontrovertibly _not_ a hugger. Especially not now, especially when she is hiding a pregnancy, and though it's impossible to tell by looking or touching her it _feels_ completely unhidden and visible to Regina. There's so much more hugging to be done, because David had really outdone himself on the invites. The only plus side is Emma is distracted, and Regina can avoid her for a bit.

When she finally sees Robin, he's got an amused grin on his face, evident he had been watching her for awhile. God, is she ever glad to see him.

He throws out his arms when she starts walking towards him in a mocking gesture. "You could use another hug!" She rolls her eyes and surprises him by walking straight into his arms, even though it had been a clear joke at her obvious discomfort in physical affection. The hug lasts a second, a second where she whispers "I hate this," and then she's pulls away quickly, before she can take comfort in the feel of him, before she tries doing something awful like trying to quickly kiss him in a sea of friendly faces.

Mary Margaret cries when she enters the room surrounded by her loved ones, kissing David and thanking everyone with such sincerity it makes Regina whispers to him it’s making her sick to her stomach There is cake soon after, and the singing of happy birthday, as well as a toast to Mary Margaret that has Regina raising a glass of seltzer water, pretending there's vodka in it. The sea of people to talk to and catch up with becomes draining on Regina, as most large social functions tend to be.

"You alright?" Emma asks coming up behind Regina, who's leaning against the wall.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a bit exhausted by all this."

"Have my drink," Emma says with a knowing smile, looking at Regina's empty glass.

"I don't think that will help."

"STILL sick?" Emma's eyes are wide.

"No…it's…" Regina struggles with what to say when Mary Margaret appears behind her with David and Robin.

"I absolutely love you guys for this!" Mary Margaret says in slightly slurred, and there she goes with the hugs again.

"David did everything. I just showed up," Regina mutters.

"Regina, do you know one of the specialties for my birthday is a Pimm's Cup?"

And she's holding Regina's favorite summer drink in front of her, and it's torture.

"No thanks," she starts, "I'm— I'm on a cleanse."

"Bullshit. You don't believe in cleanses." Emma says immediately "Regina, what is going on?"

"Are you sick? You don't look good." Mary Margaret looks concerned. Just like that, everyone's eyes are on her. She's either going to cause a scene and yell at everyone to back off her, or melt into a puddle on the corner. She focuses her eyes on Robin and tries to find a center.

"It's nothing, seriously, just a little stomach thing that's lingering. I figured I would change my diet or _go on a cleanse_ to see if that helps. I'm trying everything. Can everyone focus on the party now?" She's looking at Emma with clenched teeth.

Mary Margaret is quite for a second before her face lights up. "Wait, did you…do you think you're _pregnant?"_

Emma opens her mouth, presumably to shoot the idea down, but then she stares at Regina, and her jaw drops.

"Oh my god, you _are_ pregnant," Emma blurts it out before she has a chance consider her words.

Regina just rubs her hand over her eyes. "Emma, I know you think you can read me, but you can't."

She sputters out a little defense, and Emma just cocks her head, clearly contemplating calling her out on her lies.

David's looking worriedly at Regina, Mary Margaret looks excited for her, and Robin….Robin is just amused. Oh god, she's being so unconvincing at denying this. She gives up.

"Fine. It's really early. And really unexpected. It's so early it might be over at any moment. And no one else can know."

David immediately asks if he can get her something — water, tea, snacks, a chair (it’s kind of adorable how he fumbles over himself). Mary Margaret looks giddy, asks how far along she is and if she can plan the baby shower. Regina knows Emma is dying to ask her how she had been able to conceive given her infertility diagnosis. But Regina had told Emma about that in confidence, and Emma knows better than to ask about it in front of anyone else.

Emma eyes Robin suspiciously. "Why don't _you_ look surprised at the news?"

"I...what?" Robin is caught off guard, not used to being analyzed by Emma's watchful eye. He's been caught. "Of course I'm surprised."

"Is it…" It's clear what Emma is about to ask that if he's the father, and clear from his reaction he has no idea whether he's allowed to answer. She stops, but it doesn't stop Mary Margaret from picking up the interrogation.

"Oh my god," Mary Margaret looks at the two of them and it is looking at David, hitting him. "I TOLD YOU, I KNEW IT!"

"Knew what?" Regina asks, frustrated, angry, and entirely sure what she "knew".

"I knew you two were together, I could tell you were feeling each other up under the table last month and –"

"Mary Margaret, give them a break. We don't know the first thing about this situation." He looks at Regina, adding, "and it's none of our business. I don't even know how you feel about this. I'm sorry, we've had a lot to drink."

He means Mary Margaret has, and he's not wrong. Ordinarily she'd have an ounce more tact.

Regina takes in a deep breath and looks at Robin, seeing if he's ok with her speaking. He nods slightly and she answers. "Well you might as well know now instead of speculating in private behind our backs. It _is_ Robin's. It…wasn't anything serious between us, which is why we didn't tell you guys.

Mary Margaret is smiling so wide she swears she’s going to crack her lips wide open. "But this is good news, isn't it? I mean, best case scenario, given the situation?” She asks, grabbing Regina’s hand, then lowering her voice “I mean, for a second, I was worried it was Graham’s.” Regina rolls her eyes, thinking about _that_ situation and how she’d possibly deal with Graham being the father of her child. Yes, this is indeed the best case scenario. Mary Margaret continues, her voice high and peppy. “You can't get a better father than Robin. And you two are perfect for each other, you'll make a great family."

"We aren't going to be a family," Regina says, sighing. "We aren't together. It was not like that."

There's silence and Mary Margaret looks puzzled, her mouth drops and she's about to say something but then David is ushering her away. "Ohhhkay we have a ton more guests who came a long way to see us and I think everyone needs some space." He turns to Regina and mouths _I'm sorry_ before Ruby collides with Mary Margaret, holding her tight and wishing her a happy birthday for the sixth time that night.

Regina leans against the wall, taking a deep breath in. "Well, that went worse than I expected," she admits, looking up at the ceiling.

"Regina, I am so sorry—” Emma starts to say.

"No, it's ok it was bound to happen sooner or later. So, um, I'm going to keep it. If my body lets me. I guess you figured that."

"We both want this," Robin adds.

Emma nods, looking at Robin and then back to Regina. Emma isn't the only one who could read minds, Regina thinks smugly.

"He knows about the diagnosis," Regina explains, answering the unspoken question obviously on Emma’s mind. "That's uh, that's why we weren't…careful."

Emma _ahhs_ , absorbing the information and suddenly Regina realizes that it was kind of a lot, trusting Robin with such sensitive information she hadn’t trusted anyone with but Emma. And Emma is undoubtedly thinking of that right now, probably getting the wrong idea about the two of them. So she better make it clear that they are nothing besides friends.

"If it gets far enough I'm going to have to tell Gold. And, I may be telling people that Robin and I are together. Or serious. Even though we are not. So if people around the office ask—” The thought of telling her boss, the sneer that would go on his face as she told him, was not something she was looking forward to.

"Fuck Gold. I'll tell everyone you secretly married six months ago if you want me to. Fuck anyone who judges you about this."

Regina smiles. "You don't have to do anything like that. I just don't want to deal with the office rumors about me getting knocked up on a one night stand."

Emma laughs and her eyes fall to Robin, whose eyes haven't left Regina. "It clearly wasn't a one night stand."

"No, it happened…quite a few times," Regina concedes, color rising to her cheeks.

"That's not what I meant," Emma says, groaning. "God you two need to work it out. I'm going to go say hi to August."

"Emma?" Regina called.

"Hmm?"

"No telling anyone? Even Killian?"

"Jesus Christ, of course not. Good luck you two." But Emma is Emma, and she can't keep let the conversation end on a serious note. "I get to be the godmother, if you are doing that sort of thing. Not Mary Margaret, okay? Certainly not Ruby, and if you even consider Tina over me…"

"You're the godmother, I get it," Regina said with a smile, "if we even name godparents."

"Oh I don't care, I'm calling myself the godmother. I'm happy for you, Regina,” And Regina can tell that Emma really is happy for her, and it makes sense. Emma knows more than anyone how devastated Regina was hearing that she could never have kids. As Emma walksoff, taking a swig of beer and grabbing August by the arm to say hi, Regina breathes out a heavy sigh.

"You ok?" Robin has been mostly silent, but he hasn't left her side.

"You knew this was going to happen," Regina groans, "I should have listened to you and just stayed home."

"Regina Mills admitting that I'm right. Is there going to be an eclipse tonight?" That twinkle is in his eyes again, and he looks playful, happy.

"Very funny. I'm going to head out for the night." Regina adds, pausing. "I… I'm going home and ordering a pizza. I owe you a couple of dinners, if you're interested in joining me."

Robin chuckles and waves his hand at the suggestion. "You don't owe me any dinners. You're carrying my baby for me, let's call us even."She nods, okay then, he’s not interested in dinner. IT was stupid to ask. But he must change his mind, because he’s quickly adding, "But I _am_ hungry, and just about done with this party. Pizza sounds good."

.::.

Robin spends the night at her apartment that night. She insists nothing is wrong, but when they crawl into bed, she is immediately in his arms, hugging him much tighter than she ever has before. He's overwhelmed by what he feels for the person next to him, and not sure how or when to broach the subject of how he is clearly, thoroughly in love with her now, and never wants to let her go. For now he just enjoys it, enjoys being around her as much as she lets him.

.::.

Most nights end like this in the wake of finding out she was pregnant, with her wrapped around Robin, leaning on him, depending on him, letting him do things for her and help her. She finds she _needs_ this, and it really bothers her that she does. She shouldn’t rely on him so much, shouldn’t make him a fixture in her life, it will only make her miss him more when he leaves her.

At least they don’t yet have a standard arrangement where they see each other every day. Robin still has to call, still has to find a reason to invite her over or invite himself over to her place, a better excuse than just wanting to see her. But once they do end up together, they fall into a domestic routine with an almost frightening ease.

When her nausea subsides and she feels comfortable cooking again, she calls and invites him to dinner "as a thank you". On another night, he calls up and invites her for some because he wants her opinion on paint colors for the spare bedrooms in his house.

Once they are alone together it feels like Robin practically spends every second by her side, hovering over her, tending to her as if she were some fragile piece of china, some bird with a broken wing, some sad, wounded child. And what is worse, she _lets_ him act like that, she soaks up every ounce comfort he gives, hoping to squirrel it away to help her face what is going to come – telling her boss she would need time off for a baby as an unmarried woman, her family, dealing with letting her body grow bigger, wider, puffier…preparing for one of the biggest blessings she could ever hope for. All of those experiences, terrifying and new, exciting and agonizing – all awaited her, as soon as she allowed this pregnancy to become real.

.::.

The morning of the ultrasound comes, and Regina wakes up nauseous for the first time in over two weeks. She wakes Robin as she runs out of bed, her eyes already wet with tears. He hears her choke up last night's dinner, and Robin wonders whether this is morning sickness back with a vengeance or the stress and anxiety of the morning's scan.

She's brushing her teeth when Robin makes his way behind her, hugs her from behind. She smiles instinctively before spitting a mouthful of toothpaste.

"Good morning" she says.

"You okay? I was hoping the nausea was gone."

"I feel better. It might just be nerves."

Robin nods. "I thought that might be it. Would it help if I promised you everything was going to be just fine?"

She laughs. "No. Because you can't possibly know that."

“I disagree,” he says, looking at her in the mirror and playing with a bit of wild strands of hair. "No matter what, I can promise you everything is going to be just fine. No matter the results of the scan. We'll get through it."

She nods. "I'm not even sure what I'm hoping for," she concedes with a sigh. "My life would be so much easier if…"

Robin says nothing, agrees with her arguments for why it will all be okay if it turns out there is no baby. Still, he knows she wants this baby, knows she is just trying to prepare herself for the possible disappointment.

Regina isn't too sure, she says. But that changes when she's facing the sonogram screen, watching a wiggling shape in front of her that now has defined legs and arms, facial features, hands and feet.

"Everything looks good with the baby. Nothing concerning. But we're going to do a blood test just to check for a few possible abnormalities." Regina's eyes never leave the screen in front of her, she just nods.

She finally turns to Robin, who has been holding her hand the whole time. "You're crying" she notes, causing the doctor and Robin to laugh.

"You're crying too, Regina."

She hadn't even noticed. He moves closer towards her and kisses her on the lips, a light, chaste little kiss that shouldn't make his heart soar, but emotions are running high at this moment, and it's only natural. As soon as he pulls away she has a hand on the back of his head and pulls him forward for another quick peck, smiling broadly.

"We get to talk about baby names, now. A couple for a girl and a couple for a boy." Robin is giddy, excited, and from the smile on Regina’s face, it feels like she may feel the same.

"You two are a beautiful couple," the doctor murmurs.

They don't correct him.

The doctor leaves them in the office room then, so Regina can get changed and clean up all the jelly that's covered her stomach to aid the sonogram.

"So It sounds like it's time to tell my parents," Regina finally says as she puts on her shoes. "How do you feel about taking a trip with me to visit them? I think this is news they should hear in person."

"Anytime you want to go up and visit, I'm available."

She nods. "Next weekend too late notice?"

"Not at all."


	3. Chapter 3

It is real. It is happening.

For the last month her life has been in a holding pattern, staring ahead at a giant question mark of what her future would look like. She refused to plan anything, not until she knew whether she had a child or not, whether she got past that first semester. So now everything is crashing down on her, drowning her in to-do lists, fear, uncertainty, and very emotion she had chased herself from experiencing over the last few weeks, telling herself it was too soon to worry about _yet._

Well, now it is time to tell people about her pregnancy. And telling people – telling people that are not Robin or Emma, or her close friends – that makes it real. And making it real was terrifying.

She's been staring at the phone for what feels like hours, working through a script. She will call to say she wants to see her parents this weekend, to introduce them to her new boyfriend. Though it wasn't exactly a new introduction, as her parents have met him before. There had been a dinner with friends that time junior year in college, her college graduation party, and probably other times when her mother had "popped in" for a visit to find Robin and Emma over, making a mess of her usually spotless apartment.

Insisting on _this_ weekend would be the problem, Regina knew insisting that they make an immediate, last minute visit would alarm Cora. So Regina is going to suggest that she just drop by on her way up into New York City. It will be easy, and it will make a great escape plan after she revealed she was pregnant and caused whatever epic meltdown awaited her.

Regina is twenty-eight years old. Too old to be afraid of her mother's wrath. Too old to be this guilty and upset over disappointing her parents. She is hardly a pregnant teenager. It is _her_ life, thoroughly at this point, not her mothers. Regina takes a deep breath in and presses the call button.

"Regina, darling?"

"Hi mom!"

"Well how unexpected to hear from you on a non-holiday! Sadly, I have to assume something is wrong since you call so infrequently. So what is it?"

Great. The guilt trip sets in right away. Things are off to a _lovely_ start.

"Nothing, mother," Regina bites her lip and wills herself to assume a pleasant tone. "I was headed into the City this weekend and I thought I could stop and see you and dad on my way?"

"What's going on in New York?"

"Um, you remember Elsa. She's having a party."

Her mother most likely did not remember Elsa. Cora has little interest in Regina's friends and certainly won’t ask questions about what she plans to do for this birthday. And thank goodness for that, because this whole story is a lie and Regina is not a good liar. If she was forced to provide more details the whole thing would go up in flames.

"I see. So you were thinking of heading up on Friday night, staying with us through Saturday morning or early afternoon?"

Oh god. No spending the night.

"I was thinking I could stop by on Saturday morning and stay for a bit, you see—”

"Family is important, Regina. If you're going to be so close you should try to see us for more than a few hours."

Regina frowns and moves her mouth from the receiver so she can sigh without her mother chastising her for being rude.

"Mother, I wanted to introduce you to someone while I'm up, as well. I don't know if he will be able to join us on Friday evening."

" _He_?" Cora asks.

"You've met him before. A friend of mine from college, Robin? He's now my, i’m… well, we're dating."

There's a pause. A long pause.

"I see." Cora says, "How long have you been dating?"

How long indeed? She has asked herself so many times, and there seemed to be no answer that doesn’t make Robin sound like a rebound, imply that they cheated on Graham together, or telling her the relationship was brand new — none of which is ideal.

Regina is three months pregnant. Graham had broken up with her just about seven months ago. She and Robin had first slept together less than a month after Graham left her, but she hadn't told her mother about the breakup with Graham immediately. Regina has always been a private person and hated talking to her mom on relationship issues. So she had only told Cora about Graham when there was some worry Cora might drop by unannounced when she was in town for a pharmaceutical conference. At that point, a drop-in would have revealed Graham's things missing and Regina completely alone in their apartment, and she would have gotten quite the lecture. So out of fear, she had told her mother about the break-up only about five months ago. There was no way Robin wouldn't appear to be a cheater, a horribly obvious rebound, or so new to her life romantically he is not worth her parent's time.

You know what? Better go with vague.

"We've been dating for a few months."

"I see. Is it serious? Regina, I would love to see you but I have no interest inviting a man into our home who is unlikely to be in our lives in the next few weeks."

"He'll be in my life for quite awhile," Regina grits her teeth, realizing how true that statement would be. They would be raising a child and Robin would be a part of her life as long as that child had air in his or her lungs. That fact alone was too real and terrifying to dwell on. She shook her head and pressed on. "He's _been_ in my life for quite awhile. You've met him before, he was a good friend of mine for years. British accent? Dad was in the Airforce? He was at Walter’s holiday party in Bethesda last year?"

"I'm sorry, sweetheart, you have so many _good friends_ I just can't keep track of them,” Cora drawls in this passive aggressive and almost sarcastic voice. Regina hates her for it.

Cora has never liked her friends and seems to regard them all as superficial, meaningless friendships. It's never truly bothered Regina until now. Because Robin _is_ a good friend, and Regina has talked highly of him countless times before, has introduced him to her mother on countless occasions. He is so important to her, was long before they ever slept together and Cora has never even noticed. Regina sighs audibly this time, then winces and waits for her mother to chastise her. This time, Cora ignores it.

"Anyway, mother, I think it would be nice to have a little brunch with you and dad, around noon on Saturday?"

They will leave early on Saturday morning, drive up 4 ½ hours to see her parents, and then…drive 4 ½ hours…home? She'd figure that out later. Maybe she owes Robin a trip to New York, but she can’t really afford that at all. She will have to figure out something to give him, because so far he'd been a saint through this all.

"Alright darling."

"We'll pick up something and we can eat at the house," Regina offers. It's best to have this conversation in private, so when Cora started flinging fireballs in her direction innocent bystanders weren't scorched in the process.

"That's absolute nonsense. We'll go to the Club. You know your father loves the crepes there."

Oh god. Out of all the public places to drop this news, the club is by far the worst case scenario.

"I'd rather you get to know Robin in a less… sterile environment?"

Cora groans exasperatingly. "Honestly, Regina, I have so much trouble understanding you. Most children quit rebelling after their teenage years. There's nothing wrong with growing up with class and elegance. Lord knows many of those friends could have benefited from exposure to places like the Club. Do you think…it will make your friend – sorry, your new boyfriend, uncomfortable? Is he not used to nice places?"

 _Thanks mom. Thanks._ Another dig at Graham. He was never high brow enough for her mother's taste, ever seemed to appreciate the finer things, always looked so out of place at the restaurants Cora would pick for them.

"It's not that at all. I'd just rather Robin see where I was raised,” Regina pauses, noting the deafening silence. "It's serious, mother."

"Well you certainly were not in a rush to have Graham over. I think it took you years before you agreed to a weekend trip home."

"I'm aware. Robin is not Graham."

"I should hope not," Cora clocks her tongue. "I did tell you he wasn't good for you, did I not?"

"Yes, mother. I have told you that you were right many times."

Cora was right about Graham just like she’s hated all of her past boyfriends. It was not a sign of her mother’s good judgment, more of a sign of her impossibly narrow and horrible requirements for a suitor. And was undeniably good, perfect til the moment he left the Earth, and she hated him for his family’s lack of prestige and absence of a trust fund.

"Well if seeing our home is that important there's no reason we can't meet for coffee after brunch. I'm making reservations."

And that will have to do because Regina can’t find a way to argue anymore. 

Sue tells her mother goodbye and hangs up, stress radiating from every pulse point in her body.

Regina isn’t normally like this, not even after much more brutal talks with Cora. She is strong, resilient, especially under pressure or stress. But now she is feeling weak, wishing she had made this phone call when Robin was over, because for whatever reason he creates a calming presence just by being next to her.

It strikes her yet again how much she has allowed herself to become completely dependent on him in this last month, which is a bit concerning given that he had ceased to find her sexually attractive the moment she told him she was pregnant. He touched her now in a different way, everything felt innocent, almost like he was a kind caregiver, as if each moment of physical contact is meant for their future child and not her. She takes all the comfort from him anyway, because she just plain _needs it_ to keep it together. That fact alone terrifies her, because what is she going to do when she doesn't have him anymore?

Sure, Robin would be in her life in some capacity forever because of their child. She does believe that he wants this child, that he wants to be a father. But he is going to have a whole new life soon.

Given that he wanted a child, Robin is probably thinking about slowing down and perhaps the days of him bringing home girls from bars and concerts are gone, and he will look for a serious girlfriend. He is quite a catch, really, and the only reason he isn’t in a serious relationship now is because he seemed to enjoy being young and single. But now, since she told him about the baby, Robin seems…different. More domestic. Softer. At least, she sees a different side of him, a more mature side she didn't really see before.

So Robin will meet someone serious soon, fall in love, get married and moved on, but Regina will not be so lucky. She is going to be a single mother with a kid. It will be years before she dated, realistically, and while single fathers are considered sexy and appealing, single moms are considered burdensome. Regina will have to get used to caring for herself, being independent, relying on no one. It will be worth it, though, the loneliness and fear that came with being alone will be worth it, because she is going to be a mother.

The panic is rising up in her, and that familiar, terrifying feeling of not being able to get a deep breath in overwhelms her. She isn’t a stranger to this feeling, has always been an anxious person, an anxious child who overworried about everything that wasn't perfect. She curses her weakness as she focuses on deep and steady breaths, forcing herself to drink a bottle of water between every gulp of air.

She is reigning in her breathing, her chest and stomach no longer tight and strangling her, and she takes the opportunity to make a quick dinner. Experience told her she needed to focus on a meaningless task to keep her mind from wandering back there.

She almost has all the ingredients to make huevos rancheros, but she’d rather just make an omelette. Simple, easy, but required constant attention.

She makes a chorizo, onion, pepper and cheese omelette with her pico de gallo on top and some goat cheese sprinkled over it. She cooks everything with her full attention – finding she even focuses on the presentation of the omelette despite the fact she is the only person who would see it.

Once it is done she has to admit she wasn't even hungry. This isn’t helping.

She sits the omelette aside, letting it get cold. Then she cleans the pots and pans and dishes and cutting board. Cleaning isn’t working either. She is never going to get to sleep, and she is going to have a full blown panic attack.

She can do this without Robin. She really can. She would figure it out. But she also did need to talk to him so he knew about this weekend.

Drying her hands, she jogs to her cell phone. She smiled as she looked at the screen, showing Robin has called her twice since she got off the phone with her mother. It doesn’t mean anything, it really does not. Robin probably was just calling about this weekend. But it makes her smile nonetheless.

She presses the call button, controlling her breathing. Robin answers immediately "Hey, I tried to call you earlier. How are you feeling?"

"Fine. I talked to my mother."

There's a pause on the phone. "Everything alright?" He can always tell when things _aren't_ alright with her. Sometimes it's infuriating and sometimes, oddly comforting. Today it was both.

"Yes. We're on for this weekend."

Her breathing is still a bit hitched. She shouldn't be weak and scared over seeing family, hates the idea of anyone, especially _Robin_ seeing her as this. She's been fearless for nearly a decade, and these past few months she had been reduced to a defenseless child.

"Lovely. I look forward to introducing myself as the father to their first grandchild."

Regina snorts. "Don't introduce yourself as that. We might have to ease them into this."

The anxiety is dripping off of her, already and he's barely said a thing. His effect on her is almost dangerous.

Robin laughs. "I know. I’ll be charming, I promise."

.::.

There's a pause in the conversation and suddenly Robin is at a loss for what to say. He's known Regina for ten years, and after Emma he probably knows her the best, yet he's never been able to truly tell what is going on in her head.

This last month he's seen more of her than he ever had before – except maybe that year when they both lived in the same dorm complex. And all he can say for certain is that this past month, she has been guarded. Even around Robin, Regina has been unable to say anything she's been feeling or worrying about – and lord knows she'd been worrying. He's given her space, has not tried to get her to open up yet. He let her make excuses for why they should see each other (she doesn’t need a reason, wanting to see him is enough) indulged her in fake reasons he wanted to see her for the night too and ignored any talk of any emotions, feelings, wants or needs. He had told himself to wait until they knew that baby was still healthy. And well, now they knew. So he was going to have to ask for a bit more transparency because this situation could not continue.

Regina takes in a deep breath and fills the silence. "They would like to meet us for brunch. At the country club."

Robin laughs loudly, and believes he can hear Regina's faint chuckle on the other end of the phone.

"That is the perfect place to tell them," he says, his voice more filled with amusement than sarcasm. "I imagine when we drop the news the harpist or whatever musician is playing in the dining room will stop, suddenly, waiters will crash dishes, oh, it will be a scene right out of a movie."

He knows she's amused when she responds with a simple, tight, "It's not funny."

She uses that voice when she's trying not to laugh.

"It's a little funny," Robin counters, and then adds "Regina, we're going to be fine."

"It's not that easy."

"So they end up disappointed, upset, whatever. We are in a position to raise this child without their help or approval.”

"You don't understand. My mother is not a nice person. She knows exactly what to say to hurt, hurt more than you ever knew you were capable of. And on top of that, she doesn't believe in marrying, dating, or having children for an emotional reasons. She believes everything should have a personal benefit to your individual life goal. She married my father because he was from a prestigious family, she had me when she needed a softer image…she….she won't understand why I want this child. And she'll see it as a threat to her own reputation, and…." He can hear her spiraling out now, picking up on that vulnerability she so rarely shows .

"Regina," Robin softly interrupts, "Love, we've known each other for about a decade. You’ve been my best friend. I know about your mother."

Regina had told Robin about her mother in bits and pieces over the years, recounting these stories - stories that Cora herself had told her own daughter in some sort of twisted belief that it would inspire Regina to attack the world with the same ruthless slimy behavior.

As awful as Cora sounded, and probably was (Robin has met her and her presence was intimidating, uncomfortable, and she certainly seemed ruthless), Robin knows Regina makes her mother out to be much more frightening and all-knowing than she actually is— bigger than life, all powerful, like one does with the people they love and fear. And that is what Cora is to Regina. A person she loves and fears.

"Sorry. I keep forgetting you know all about her. I'm just worried about you, I don't want you to lose your job, or anything because of me," She pauses for a beat, "It's not too late to back out, you know.”

He smiles and quickly assures her that his job and reputation is safe (It's a government job, sure, in a field Cora knows little about, and contrary to Regina's belief, not everyone in this administration has heard of Cora Mills. She's been out of the DC area for the last fifteen years, for god's sake. She may be a powerful and influential woman, but she does not have _that_ amount of power. And there are issues with getting someone in government fired for no reason. It's not going to be done.) "And I'm not backing out of this. I'm not leaving you to go through this alone. I'll be right there."

She breathes out _Alright_ in an uncertain voice before adding. "I know she's not as connected as I make her out to be. It's just that I know she is going to come up with some grand solution to this problem, and if we don't follow her plan, I have no idea what she will do."

What could she possibly do, anyway? He has no secrets, she can't take away his job, his family is safe from her wrath. Cora is comfortably human to Robin but to Regina, she is an all powerful being. He gets it, Cora raised her that way. And Cora may know far more politicians than he will ever know, she appears to hold a lot of power over the powerful, but she is comfortably separated from his life, and the lives of his loved ones. 

Except for Regina. And if Cora is as good as finding people's weaknesses as he's heard, she'll quickly find out that Regina is his weakness. If she convinces Regina to leave him, even just distance herself from him, that will be her way of ruining him. Just the thought has him on edge, feeling slightly off-kilter.

"Mind if I swing by tonight?" he asks. He's seen her almost everyday since she told him he was pregnant and the days where he doesn't see her are far and few between, and now those days without her feel emptier, lonelier. Besides, they had just gotten the results from the blood test they took at the sonogram, and their child was cleared of most genetic abnormalities. Why _weren't_ they together tonight? She had made an excuse for why she couldn't have dinner with him, and he hadn't wanted to make a big deal of it, so he let it go without a fight, but he misses her and knows he can help her feel better if he were only there.

He isn’t someone who always needs company. He had been quite content in spending weeknights alone before all this. It seems, however, that all he’s grown accustomed to seeing Regina almost every night, having her in his bed, or being in hers. It’s not just sexual — in fact Robin hasn't so much as kissed her (really kissed her, not the tiny pecks they share now) since Regina told him she was pregnant, but there's something far more intimate that's developed, and he doesn't want that to go away. He doesn’t want her pulling away from him.

"I'm exhausted," Regina responds, with an edge of agitation.

"I'll come to you," he offers, but he knows it's pointless. She's pulling away from him, but if he calls her out on it she'll just stubbornly refuse to admit it, and the distance will grow more. She's emotionally stunted, has been since he has known her. He knows the way she was forced to deal with Daniel’s death left scars and deeply changed her. He wishes he had known her before, if only to know what she was like before the grief and trauma and anger hardened her and put all these walls up.

"Robin…" He winces at how annoyed she sounds at him now, and no, this isn't really fair, a request to swing by and see the mother of his child shouldn't merit such a reaction. "You don't have to come over here and comfort me every time you think I'm upset. I can take care of myself."

This isn't about comforting _her_. It's about comforting _him_. It's about getting to hold her and remind himself she's still here and they still have that connection he feels every time he's around her.

He knows he's being selfish, but suddenly he's angry at her. His mind flashes to Graham, realizing that he probably never felt like Robin felt now. That is why he and Regina worked for so long. Graham didn't have any emotions either, so they made the perfect emotionless match. Well, Robin _has_ feelings and he isn't some sort of robotic senseless frat guy she can just use to fulfill whatever role Graham was supposed to play in her life. Robin actually cares about her, and she can't continue to hurt him like this (even though she has no idea she's hurting him because he's too much of a coward to make his feelings known).

He's about to just say this to her aloud, say words he knows will hurt and upset her, and potentially reveal how in love with her she is in the process, when he hears her breathing into the phone.

It's a deep strangled breath, and he knows that struggle. She had these incidents in the past, studying late at night, around finals, during senior year job interviews. It wasn't quite a panic attack, she wouldn't faint, or collapse. She'd just have trouble breathing, struggle, try to yawn to get a big breath in, and it would stay like that until her nerves calmed down.

Of course it was happening again. She had a lot on her plate.

"Breathing troubles again?" he asks lightly

She almost growls in response. "I'm seriously fine, Robin. I appreciate all you're doing for me and really, it might be too much. It's not too late— "

"Stop it," he says sternly, "I want to be here. I wouldn't do anything I didn't want to do. You know this. You know me. I'm not what you would describe as "selfless", wouldn't you say?"

There's a light faint sound of laughter on the other end of the phone. "You helped David move in and practically painted his whole house."

"That wasn't being selfless," Robin says, grateful she's shifted the conversation into something lighter, because if she kept telling him to go away he is going to say something he regrets. "Free beer, a good workout, and David's next door neighbor doesn't wear a bra. And she changes in front of an open window."

Regina laughs, thank god, that’s a good sign. Anything that takes the pressure and stress off her, at least temporarily, would help her get her breathing back.

"Feed the Homeless, Habitat for Humanity, Big Brother…" she starts to list his volunteer organization in a taunting manner.

He chuckles. “Enough, enough. That's different. I like doing that stuff."

"You are the most selfless person I know," she admits, and he thinks it’s a joke, but no, she’s being serious.

"All of those things are on my terms. I don't inconvenience myself for others. You've seen how I react going to bars I detest, going out with people I don't like…going out with people I don't like…I'm pretty stubborn when it comes to that. You couldn't make me do this if I didn't want to. I'm volunteering because I already want to do it."

"Mhm."

There's a pause, and he's about to say something to convince her he's not some sort of saint, but she adds in "From Ruby's account, you were quite the selfless lover."

He cringes and laughs at the same time, too loud. "I cannot _believe_ you brought that up."

He thinks back to that night, when he took Ruby home from a bar. He had far, far too much to drink and he knew it just wasn't going to happen for him. Rather than face the embarrassment of having to call the night a wash, he _tried_ to please Ruby, though in his drunken state his performance was probably less than adequate. It didn't seem to matter, Ruby hadn't focused on the fact that he wasn't the best lover, but on the fact he had turned down a blow job in favor of pleasing her, and that Robin appeared to have some sort of kink in giving pleasure and denying himself the same treatment. He had confessed the truth to Regina, who found it pretty amusing.

"I'm doubting your story, you know." She sounds better, almost flirtatious. Is she flirting? Because after a month of being platonic he’d jump at the chance to be more again. Oh god, if he could come over and flirt his way into bed with her...

If she only knew his thoughts! So much for him being selfless.

"Oh?" Robin asks, "Doubting what story?"

"That you were so giving because you were too drunk to… reach completion?"

He laughs again, for a moment glad she's not there to see his ears and cheeks red.

"You do not appear to have that problem, and the night Will came to visit I don't think I've ever seen you drunker, and well…"

 _Shit._ That night had been rough. It was several months ago, and Will was in town from Chicago. Whenever he got back together with Will he tended to revert into his college state. He would drink more, his jokes were cruder, he seemed to lack any sense of shame…and god. That night was no exception.

"Oh god, Regina, I think I had mentally blocked that night out of my head."

Regina only laughs and tells him, "The next morning was what you need to forget. That night was great."

.::. Five Months ago.::.

_Robin wakes up with his head pounding and his throat sore. He threw up last night, he remembers that. With Regina in his bed next to him, he had run to the master bathroom, unable to even shut the door. And now, he has to repeat the action. After puking his brains out and feeling as if he was going to die, he brushes his teeth and stumbles back to the bedroom to find Regina leaning against the bed with a smug smile and an open bottle of cold water._

_"I told you that you can't keep up with Will anymore," she taunts lightly, handing him the bottle. She was wearing one of his v-necked tee shirt, legs bare and exposed and beautiful, hair unkempt but impossibly beautiful and perfect in the morning light._

_"Am I getting old already?" Robin asks, still half-drunk from his late night. "Every part of my body hurts."_

_Regina smiles and tilts her head, making visible an angry red welt below her collarbone._

_"Shit, Regina what happened?"_

_She looks confused as he walks towards her, smoothing over the welt with his fingers._

_"You" she says amused. His face goes white with horror so she quickly adds. "It's more of a bite than a hickey…." She giggles, and sure enough, there are teeth marks. Oh god. "Apparently you're not old enough to stop giving hickies."_

_He winces at what he has done to her, broken her skin, marked her, like some sort of rabid animal. And worse yet, he has absolutely no memory of doing it. "Regina I am so, so sorry. That looks painful."_

_She just smiles wider. "No, it doesn't hurt. I bruise easily. I'm going to have to wear high collared shirts for awhile, but that's fine. Lay down and drink some water. I'm going to make you something."_

_"Mmm no, lets just go to the diner and get something horribly unhealthy."_

_"You're in no shape to be out in the daylight. Let me make you breakfast."_

_"But you won't put an unreasonable amount of butter and grease on everything," he moans._

_"I will put a lot of butter in them._ This _time." She laughs. She kisses his forehead as he lies back in bed, handing him his bottle of water and pointing to the aspirin on his nightstand. "I figured you'd have a headache." He nods faintly and she started to leave the room._

_"R’gina?" he must have been loud last night, because his throat feels like sandpaper. He barely recognizes his own voice._

_"Yeah?"_

_"Is there anything else I need to apologize for?"_

_She shakes her head, walking back to the bed and cupping his cheek, a grin on her face. "No, everything was fine."_

_"I didn't… grope you in front of our friends did I?"_

_Regina laughs sweetly. "You got a bit touchy feely, but you're always like that when you drink. You didn't try to kiss me. You just touched my ass a few times but it was subtle. I don’t think anyone noticed."_

_"It's a nice ass" he comments, still groggy and half drunk. "I'm not surprised my drunken self was unable to resist it. Still, I'm sorry."_

_"I didn't mind. You don't remember anything?"_

_"It's coming back in pieces. Right now it's hard to think about anything. My head…" He swallows the two aspirins and downs some water to swallow them. The water is icy and soothes his burning aching throat. He takes another gulp, relishing in the feeling again._

_"It was a good night." She sighs, looking down on the comforter, a sly smile on her face. "I'm a bit sad that you don't remember it. Maybe I took advantage of you in your drunken state."_

_He chokes on his sip of water, unable to contain his laughter. "Apparently I was trying to eat you alive last night" he reminds, motioning to the mark on her skin. "I always want you, Regina."_

_It is a surprisingly tender admission in the haze of a bad hangover, and for a second he considers expanding on the issue, telling her how perfect she is for him, how much he thinks about her everyday, how he would do anything for her…but good sense takes over and he falls silent. It isn’t the moment to confess feelings that would make it clear he felt more than friendship and lust for her. Not when his head is pounding and his stomach is threatening another vomiting episode._

_"Lie down. I'll make breakfast. Will wanted to crash here, by the way, and you told him it wasn't a good night and pawned him off on John. He's going to ask what the hell that was about."_

_Robin smiles, his eyes still shut, his hand still rubbing his forehead. "I suppose I shouldn't tell him I really needed to fuck you in privacy last night?"_

_He feels a pillow hit him in the forehead and glances up to see an amused but frowning Regina. "Very funny."_

_She brings up eggs and bacon and toast, butter smeared on the toast in a way Regina would never ordinarily approve. A separate plate held a rather large apple cinnamon pancake._

_"I'm not sure what you are in the mood for," Regina says with a smile, "but this should cover it."_

_"You really didn't have to do all this. And I don't deserve breakfast in bed." But he is famished and unable to resist shoving forkfuls of egg and a bite of toast in his mouth._

_"It's no trouble. I'll leave the cleanup for you."_

_The night came back to him in flashes after breakfast, flashes of shots with Will, being a good wingman and helping to fix up Will with some pretty little blonde who had graduated college the year before...a flash of Emma and Killian getting into a fight, then making up, memories of Mary Margaret and David being far too sober, repeatedly asking Robin and Emma to keep their voices down, remembering the blonde Will was with ordering tequila shots and proving to be a true "woo girl"…._

_He remembers they somehow wound up at 18th Street Lounge halfway through the night, probably the blonde's idea, and she had brought a few of her friends so Alan and John were occupied with her friends while Will and that blonde were making out somewhere on the dance floor…_

_He remembers Alan and John drinking and getting into a heated debate about fantasy football, completely forgetting girls for the night..._

_And he remembers many, many moments with Regina._

_She was wearing a tight red dress, and he knew she had set out to tease him the whole night as soon as she bent down on the table to ask him if he wanted a drink, a knowing smile on her face when he took in her cleavage hungrily, when she sashayed her hips on the way to the bar, her ass barely covered by the back of her dress._

_He remembers dancing with Regina, talking dirty into her ear, being achingly hard for her at that moment, and she had just smiled, moved in closer and said "take me home and fuck me tonight.”_ _She nipped and his ear, then she was gone from his arms._

_He saw her throughout the night, flirting with other men, dancing and grinding with Alan for gods sake (she didn't even like Alan, but from the looks of it he was very much enjoying her). He remembers she caught him staring more than once, meeting his eyes with one of those knowing smiles._

_He remembers Alan mentioning that Regina looked like she wanted to get fucked tonight, and Robin being pissed as all hell as his friends mentioned they wouldn't mind helping her get over Graham…He remembered following her as she made her way to the bathroom, pulling her in for kiss and asking her to come home with him, only for her to say she was still having fun and wasn't ready to go home yet, prolonging the torture as she danced with him, quickly moving on to dance with Emma._

_And he remembers Regina finally agreeing to go home with him after what seemed like hours of torture, sneaking her into his cab home when no one was paying attention, nearly getting kicked out of the cab because he couldn't stop kissing and touching her, (and to the cab driver it looked an awful lot like sex, which it might have been, if Regina was willing and the cab driver hadn't called him out on it)…_

_He remembers she was kissing his neck and grabbing his ass as he was fumbling with his keys, then he pushed her up against the door the moment he got in, lifting her tits out of the dress (he hadn't had the patiences for zippers and buttons, and Regina hadn't seemed to mind)... he remembers that weird combination of drunken frustration, jealousy, and overwhelming desire that made him aggressive and dominating, whispering in her ear that she was a fucking tease, that she could **not** do that to him ever again unless she wanted him to fuck her senseless in the middle of a crowded club. He had kissed and sucked his way around her breasts – harsher than usual, but the whole night had been torture and he was so damn needy. He remembers that she had pulled down his boxers, and was stroking him steadily, that she wanted this as much as he did. And he remembers when he pulled off her underwear, when he felt how wet she already had been, he grabbed her ass, lifted her up against the front door wall and fucked her senseless, whispering about how badly he wanted her the whole night, how perfect her body was, how she drove him crazy. She had moaned something back, but he couldn't focus on her words, all he could focus on was the feel of her body, how amazing she felt inside, tight and wet and fluttering around him almost instantly, as her head flung back and her nails dug into his shoulders._

_It wasn't until that next Monday morning, while he was lost in thought, riding on the metro on the way to work, that he remembered he had said one more thing that night. Right when she was coming, or god, she felt like she was, pulsing all around him, her wetness dripping out of her and down his cock and balls, in that dirty, but somehow perfect moment between her orgasm and his, he was pretty sure he remembers groaning "oh god, Regina I love you."_

_He can’t remember what her face looked like, if she had been surprised, if she even heard it, if she had written it off as just sex talk or whether it had really bothered her._

_Regina was drunk that night too, and it's possible the night is a haze to her as well. He hopes, prays to whatever god that might be out there that she didn't hear it, that it is a false memory that was fabricated and never happened – that something prevented that night from being the first time he ever told Regina Mills how he feels about her._

"I, uh, I was not a gentleman that night,” chuckles nervously. That is putting it mildly.

"No, you were not. And thank god, you certainly weren't the _selfles_ s lover I was expecting after that story. You definitely had no trouble, um, giving and receiving. Despite your state.” Her voice is taunting, amused, not offended, and he can’t tell if she is teasing him or asking for an explanation. God, he hopes he wasn’t a bad lay that night. But if she wants to know why he had no trouble getting it up for her he’s going to have to admit that he wants so much more than he ever wanted Ruby.

"Regina…" he starts to formulate another apology and an explanation for his behavior that night. 

"Oh. My. God." Regina exclaims, shocking him out of his guilt-ridden memories.

"What?"

"I'm pretty sure that was the night… I mean, that is the night, we, um…. _conceived_."

Regina rambles on about the math, counting the weeks, based on the fetus's age, but all Robin can think of is no, not that night.

Anything but that night.

"Can we please make it another night?"

Regina laughs. "I mean, it's possible it was another night."

She pauses, probably trying to solve the same puzzle he was working on. _What other night did we actually have sex that week?_ Oh, there were other nights around that time, but it didn't seem to end in a way you could make a baby. She was right, that is probably the night it happened. God damn it. Then she adds, "But I liked that night. What I remember of it, anyway."

"Ah yes, the night I conceived our child I whispered gently in your ear, ‘You are such a fucking tease.’ What a magical night."

Regina’s laughter is loud in his ear. "You remember more about that night! It came back to you?"

"Not all of it, bits and pieces. Tell me what I'm forgetting." He waits. Maybe she will mention the little matter of those three words he muttered to her mid-orgasm. But otherwise, he isn't bringing it up.

"There is something you probably don't remember." Robin takes a deep breath in, preparing himself. But Regina just laughs instead. "Do you remember that we… were loud? And that your neighbors to the left woke up and banged on the walls and told us to keep it down?"

Robin chuckles, thinking of how red she got the last time she ran into Randall and Sandra Cooper, both walking home from dinner, their child in a stroller, how awkward everyone had seemed, how Regina actually wouldn't make eye contact, unusual for her. "Is that why you act so weird everytime we see the Coopers?"

"Shut it."

"Well, from what I can remember it was worth whatever embarrassment you suffered…especially if that led to our future child."

There's a wistful pause in the conversation, and a small, throaty _hmm_ from Regina that sounds unbelievably sexy, has Robin even more desperate to see her, even if she hasn't given any indication she wants him in _that way_ anymore. And then he notices her breathing isn't strangled anymore, and she sounds healthier, happier.

"So, now that you have thoroughly embarrassed me, do you feel any better?"

"I do. I will keep this magical cure in mind the next time I am feeling bad."

"Now, can I drop by so we can get our story straight for your parents this weekend?"

He hates that he needs an excuse, that he can't just ask her to come over because even though their time apart can be easily measured in hours, he misses her. But if this is what makes her comfortable, and he's loath to give her another reason to have a panic attack. He can wait to talk about his feelings when she is feeling better.

"Tomorrow night?"

"That works," Robin agrees. "So, how was Gold this morning at work?"

They are on the phone for another hour, Regina getting ready for bed, putting him on speakerphone when she brushes her teeth and washes her face while he tells her stories of John and Will in college, stories they surely do not want ladies to hear at all, but stories that makes Regina sound relaxed and happy, and he figures whatever code he had broken in sharing these stories was worth hearing the tension drip out of Regina's voice. It occurs to Robin more than once that there is no earthly reason why he isn’t over there right now, saving his poor phone's battery and talking to her in person. Eventually they say their goodnights, Regina's voice ethereal, laced with sleep, telling Robin she'd see him tomorrow.

.::.

The next night, Robin meets Regina at the metro to walk her to his place, even though she insists that isn't necessary. He gets Indian takeout, which they both pick at throughout the night while discussing their elaborate lies for Regina's family, how long they have been dating, how their relationship came to be, why Graham sucks. She's come up with a good story, and that doesn't surprise Robin at all.

Regina starts to go through scenarios, if Cora says this, if Cora says that, and Robin has to laugh at how detailed she has made this story. But the more she talks about her mother's reaction, the more she draws in on herself. This time, when Regina feels the crushing weight on her chest, the fear of the future, Robin is there to notice right away. Robin sees the shift in her mood, notices how she is playing with her food, how her words sound just a bit slower, and forced.

"Can we take a break from this serious talk for a bit?" He asks, putting his food down on the coffee table.

"Sure. I didn't mean to overwhelm you with all this…it's just…" Robin is shifting towards her, his hands find her shoulders and she instantly sifts her body and tilts her head down so he has easier access to her neck. "Mmm…what have I done to earn a massage?"

Robin scratches the underside of her neck, playing with her hair, while his other hand kneads her right shoulder softly, drawing a soft moan out of her.

"Maybe I'm just trying to get you to shut up and relax a bit."

He has a talent for this, or maybe it is just that he knows her body well and knows what it needs. He’s drawing soft, pleased moans out of her that shouldn't be turning him on right now, she's hurting and this is about her, about helping her relax. He turns on the tv to reruns of Saturday night live, rubbing her gently until it's ready for bed.

"Thank you for doing all this for me,” Regina sighs, half asleep. "You must think I'm crazy at my age to care this much about what my mother—”

"I know your mother, Regina. I don't think you're crazy. And I like road trips, and I like spending time with you. It'll be a pretty nice weekend.”

Regina scoffs bitterly and disagrees.

But as bad as the weekend looks on paper, it just doesn't feel that bad to him.

.::.

On Friday night Regina insists on doing laundry and getting ready for their weekend alone. She will bring luggage, since they are supposed to be on their way to New York, as far as her parents know, but Robin said they might as well bring a change of clothes just in case they feel like exploring the gardens of the garden state…surely there has to be something they can explore while they are up there.

Robin shows up at 6:30 the next morning, in his comfortable jeans and a tee shirt, leading Regina to cringe.

"Robin, the country club, it's jacket required, and uh…."

Robin smiles, pointing to a garment bag in the backseat. "Don't worry, milady" he says with a wink "I have an outfit to change into once we get there. I didn't want the outfit to get creased and wrinkled on our drive."

Oh.

She's in a halter sundress, with a pastel paisley print preppy, flaring out just before her belly, no doubt picked particularly to hide the small change her stomach has overtaken in these last three months. It's incredible, really, how little her body has changed so far to an untrained eye. But Cora's eyes are very trained and focused, and she was no doubt worried about that, if the circles under her eyes were any indication.

"You look great."

She looks down at her dress and shrugs her shoulders and grimaces, indicating she really does not think she looks great. It is uncharacteristic for her to doubt her fashion sense or looks, but her mother always draws out that self doubt in her.

"So would you like me to take the first shift driving?" She asks with a false cheeriness. No, he didn't want her driving while she was worried sick about today.

"It's not a long drive, I would rather drive the whole way if that's okay with you."

"Ahh, so I'm being chauffeured today," Regina starts to open the passenger side door, but Robin gets to it first, opening it for her to get in.

"Indeed, milady." It brings a smile to her face.

"Ok you seriously need to stop calling me that."

But she looks so amused, he thinks he won’t stop.

.::.

It's been about two hours in the car and it's like old times. They can't find a decent radio station, so Regina puts her iphone on in shuffle mode. A mix of new and old songs play, Robin requesting a "pass" everytime one of her guilty pleasure songs comes on.

They are currently arguing over what is the best breakfast spot in Robin's neighborhood. The diner in a trailer on the outskirts of the nicest part of town is Robin's favorite, the upscale brunch place is Regina’s.

And then those familiar three chords start playing on the radio. Regina freezes. It's Bush's _Glycerine_. It will always remind her of Robin, though she doubts he would remember. The night is significant to her for a reason he doesn't know.

She goes to turn the song but Robin's hand reaches out to grab her arm before she can touch her iphone.

"Leave it. Do you remember this?"

She smiles, nostalgia washes over her. "Yes, I remember."

"This song always reminds me of you."

She's surprised. She would have thought it would have reminded Robin of someone else.

.::. _Junior Year, 2006.::._

_Robin isn’t the annoying kid who brought a guitar to parties. Really. But he did perform an open mic night earlier. It had been one of those first warm days of spring mid-way through the semester that had everyone in a good mood. After the open mic he had stayed for a few drinks, and wound up at Will's place, with his stoner roommates. Will lives in an apartment close to campus that had almost been entirely overtaken by college kids, so it is easy to avoid noise complaints. There is no shortage of girls in that apartment at any given time, and there is no difference tonight._

_It isn’t Regina's scene, but she had not made it to Robin's performance and wanted to celebrate with him, so she showed up Mary Margaret and Sara ("Tinks" as they called her), and of course Emma. Robin had been asked by a young girl – probably a freshman – if he would play the guitar for her. In a matter of minutes almost everyone was sitting in a circle around the room, passing a joint while Robin took requests. Most of the song requests were awful, and Regina is amused at the look on his face when he is asked if he could do an acoustic version of Fergie's London Bridge._

_Regina sits against the tv stand, her knees bent near her chest, watching these new girls in Will's smoky apartment treat Robin like he is a delectable treat they wanted to devour. And Regina couldn't blame them. He has the British accent going for him, he can turn nearly any song into a rocking acoustic version, his voice is beautiful, and he is very, very good looking. He is directly across her, sitting on the couch, surrounded by fangirls and a few awkward looking men who are clearly just here for the free pot. It is an amusing scene._

_But she is most amused because Robin seems slightly uncomfortable by all the attention. After he finished a shortened version of American Pie (he made them all sing along) he cocks his head at her, raises and eyebrows and asks "Regina, do you have any requests? Are you going to challenge me to play a Rihanna song?"_

_She shakes her head. "Play Glycerine, by Bush" she inhaled the joint and passed it, "If you know that song, that is."_

_She knows very well that Robin knows that song inside and out, he often played it while they studied accounting last year and it's one of the easiest songs to play on a guitar._

_She expected him to whine and ask her to give him a serious challenge, but he leaps into it._

Must be your skin I'm sinking in

Must be for real, for now I feel

_And she had forgotten how sexy the song is, how Robins' voice is perfect to pour over these words. It nearly takes the breath out of her as she sees him in a new light. She had never let her thoughts of her friend wander into lustful territory before, when people had accused them of being together she'd get angry, always maintaining he was not like that to her. But now...now she’s realizing there may be a reason she feels so defensive._

_Fuck._

Couldn't love you more, you got a beautiful taste

_The mood shifts in the room, it isn’t a sing-a-long, like when he played The Joker or American Pie. It isn’t funny like when he was trying to do his best acoustic impression of Lady Marmalade. There is a certain amount of awe around the room. He is truly talented, his voice is perfect for this song._

_The whole time his eyes are on her, and hers on him. His voice mixes with the alcohol and pot creating a warm tingling in her. Right then, she realized she does feel more than friendship for Robin. She always knew he was attractive, but now he looks irresistibly sexy, he has been a good friend to her for two years, and he seems so uncomfortable with the praise he is getting which only makes him hotter. In this moment, acknowledging she has been secretly pining for her friend does not scare her, it is a comfortable realization as he sings, staring at her, making her fantasize about kissing him, taking him to bed._

_The song is over quickly, and the small group rounds with applause, shaking Regina out of her hazy, not-so-innocent thoughts. She claps along with them, winking at Robin as he winks back at her. The girl sitting at the foot of the couch right near Robin's legs looked up, rubbing his leg lightly._

_"That was soooo good." She slurs. Regina tried to remember her name. Emily? Ann Marie? Whoever it is, Regina hates her. And she hates that Robin is smiling back at her, saying thank you and asking if she has a request._

_"A Nelly song….Ride with me?"_

_Robin laughs. "I can do the chorus, but I can't remember all those lyrics." He pauses for a moment, trying to work the song out in his head, and then leaps into the chorus, after the chorus, the girls fill in the lyrics as he plays._

_There is a sudden a spark of jealousy that she has no right to feel, and all these soaring happy, lovely feelings are being replaced by negative emotions, and Regina doesn't want to pull herself into sad or angry drunk territory. She leaves the room to avoid crashing into sadness but not before taking notice that the girl's hand is still on Robin's leg. Regina moves between the two bedrooms and the kitchen, into the small groups of people that formed there._

_The music dies down shortly after, Robin must be tired of playing songs for the last… hour? They have a mix playing now, and she laughs as Brian McKnight's Anytime plays. She makes a run to the kitchen to grab some beer for David and Tinks, promising to see if there's anything to eat that she can steal, and as she's gathering supplies to take back to the room, Robin approaches. He looks a little drunk, that much is clear, but also high, maybe on the new fans he acquired, maybe on the pot. Whatever it is has him bold enough to grab her by the waist, pull her towards to where he's decided to lean up on the counter._

_"Why did you leave?" he asks in a groggy voice._

_"I played a good wingman, I didn't want to get in the way of all your new admirers."_

_He laughs. "Apparently women like men with guitars."_

_"You are twenty years old and just finding that out?"_

_"Mm, I must be a late bloomer." He strokes his hands up and down her hips and she doesn’t know why. The conversation is not that intimate, and they are not touchy feely like that, they hug but they don’t, rub each other. Her heart is racing, unclear what was happening. She should remove herself from the situation immediately but she is paralyzed, she is enjoying the feeling of being in Robin's arms far too much._

_"You could have had a far better time in high school had you realized that you have the power to turn most women into putty in your hands with that voice."_

_"Even you?"_

_Regina scrunches her nose, annoyed by the implication. "I must be immune to your charms. I think that happens after you watch someone eat five peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in one sitting?" She tries to kill the mood, but he won’t let it go, his hands shifting to her back._

_"I'll have to try harder to charm you in the future." It rolls off his tongue easily, but he can’t have meant it. It is drugs, alcohol, performer's high, whatever. He isn’t even looking at her eyes, his eyes are wandering up and down her body._

_"You are very talented, and you should sing a Bush song everytime you want to get a woman into your bed," she blushes a bit more than she would have wanted, quickly adding "…but, I think somebody has reached his limit."_

_Regina takes the half full beer bottle out of his hand and adds, "I'm confiscating this."_

_They are still so close that she can feel his breath on her as she takes a sip out of the beer bottle, feels his hands tighten around her hips._

_"You should drink beer out of a bottle every time you want to get a man into your bed," he rasps into her ear._

_Electricity had run through her veins at, but she tells herself she is making too much out of it. Maybe he wants her for tonight. But she does not want to be a random hookup for the night, not with Robin, not when she wasn't sure whether he really wanted her or just wanted someone for the night. Afterall, by her estimation it had been quite awhile since Belle. There's a moment of silence where they just stare at each other._

_”I think you’re really wasted,” is all she can think say, because this can’t be serious._

_"I'm not really that far gone, Regina, and—“_

_Predictably, Regina can’t hear it. She can’t, because with how she’s feeling if he keeps flirting with her, she’s going to kiss him and may end up sleeping with him, and is that the best decision to make while drunk and stoned?_

_"You should go back to your fans. I need to get this," she pointed to the beers, a few brownies and a bag of chips, "to the hungry drunks in Dale's room."_

_It is a cowardly move, but she was dangerously close to acting on impulse, and she is not in the right state of mind to make decisions that could potentially wreck a friendship._

_She removes herself from Robin's arms, grabbing and squeezing his hand with a smile, and he leaves the kitchen as she gathers food to take back to the room until a voice to her left startles her._

_"What the fuck was that?" Tinks is in the doorframe of the kitchen, and she had clearly watched the entire scene unfold, much to Regina's embarrassment._

_"Calm down, I have your beer here."_

_"That is not what I meant. I meant, what in the god damn hell was THAT? Why did you push him away? To a room of horny freshmen, no less? He likes you, I've told you that SO MANY TIMES, and you like him, you know I'm never wrong about these things, so what the hell?"_

_"Tinks, I seriously, I don't feel that way about Robin."_

_"You are hopeless," Tink groans._

_As stubborn as Regina is, she couldn't resist making her way back to the living room to see Robin. She’s not sure what she wants to say or do, but she has the urge to see if maybe Tink was right._

_But the sight of him shakes her out of her temporary fantasies. It hadn't been more than a few minutes, but the tiny redhead who had requested a god damned Nelly song is now on his lap, facing him, trading small kisses with him. Regina rolls her eyes and left, innerly cursing herself for feeling things that weren't meant to be. And towards the end of the night, Robin thanks her for being such a good wingman and she feels like crying._

_.:.._

Robin had changed after that night. Or, rather, his sex life changed. It wasn't that he was disrespectful of women, but he had a lot of casual "relationships" before he found his Marian, and continued the casual hookups after Marian left him. Something about that night had given him more confidence, and all he ever needed was a bit of confidence, since he had everything else going for him.

Regina had been happy he had come into his own, recognized how much he had to offer, gained some confidence. She really was happy for him.

But that damn song still embarrasses her, reminds her of those feelings of lust and jealousy she had for her friend who she had no claim to at all.

"The song doesn't remind you of the little redhead you went home with that night?" Regina finally says in reply to him, choking back the emotions the heavy weight of nostalgia brought to her.

Robin laughs. "She passed out as soon as we got to my apartment and the next morning we went to breakfast. She was dating this frat guy named Drew, apparently. Not the finest ending to the night."

"Ah."

"But I will never forget how you tried to set me up that night. Very kind of you." Oh, if only he knew.

"How Robin got his groove back," Regina adds.

"Yeah that… that night was a bit of an ego boost."

"You needed one."

The rest of the car ride is smooth, they reminisce about college, and chit chat a bit about Regina's childhood as they enter New Jersey. Robin makes a joke about Jersey girls, and she turns vehemently defends her home state. They pull up to the country club, giving the valet Regina's parent's membership member and reservation for brunch.

Robin grabs the garmet bag with his "proper clothes" and pulls the valet aside.

"We've had a long drive, and I wanted to make a good impression on my girlfriend's parents. I have a suit I need to change into, is there a place I could change, and return this garment bag back to you?"

The man stares back at Regina. He has her parent's reservation number and information in his hand, and he clearly knows them. "Cora's your mother, right?"

Regina nods "I'm afraid she is."

"Man, good luck. The changing facilities are in the spa, and that area is for members only, but there's the service changing rooms…" he points him in the direction to an outdoor entrance to the service room, Robin smiles and thanks him, tips him well, and runs off.

When he returns he's wearing a light gray suit, perfect for the time of year, a white, perfectly pressed dress shirt underneath. He pulls a pastel purple tie out of his pocket. "Is a tie required, because..."

Regina shakes her head, "No, no tie, just…I like you like this. You look really good."

"Do I?"

He really, really does and that stubborn too attracted part of her reminds her that it would be much more fun to blow off this meal and get into bed with him, immediately.

But she’s not that reckless and impulsive, so Regina just nods, still looking him up and down like a piece of meat, her look not unnoticed by Robin.

He's just introduced himself as the boyfriend in front of the valet, so perhaps that's why he draws her for a kiss at that moment.

"Let's get this over with,” Regina says with a smile.

"You make this day sound ever more exciting and wonderful."

She jabs his elbow and they make their way into the club.

They are very early, showing up a good half hour before the reservation, but the club seats them anyway. Regina fidgets as they wait, sipping water, her hand shaking. Robin takes it in his hands.

"Everything is going to be just fine" he promises...

And then Cora and Henry appear.

"My darling!" Cora says, as Regina jumps up to hug her mother and kiss her on the cheek. Cora looks her up and down, as if there is something off she can't place. But then Henry is hugging her tightly.

"This is Robin. You've met him before."

Cora looks at him, an arched eyebrow "Have we?"

Henry offers Robin a hand shaking it heartily "Of course, Robin my boy. Cora, you must remember, Regina's friend from college. She talks about him often. We just saw him last year at Walter's Christmas party...and I believe he was there for Karina's graduation party a few months ago."

"Indeed I was."

"I just don't know how my husband can keep track of all of Regina's friends," Cora tells him, "I'm afraid I can't remember you over all the other _friends_ she talks on about."

Regina bites her tongue. Truly, the only people she talks about are Robin, Emma and Mary Margaret. Mary is probably the only friend her mom remembers, since her mother is interested in her. Mary comes from money, afterall.

"In any case, Robin, it's wonderful to meet you."

"And it's lovely to see you again." Robin shoots back with a smile.

Cora sits down putting a napkin to her lap. "So, Regina tells me you two are quite serious."

Regina sits down and takes a big gulp of water. So much for an easy start.

Robin turns to look at her, looking genuinely touched.

What an actor.

"We are, absolutely."

"I usually don't meet her boyfriends so early in a relationship. She likes to hide them from me until they are more serious, I suppose."

"Mother…."

"I'm just being honest, dear."

She's not just being honest, though. Regina wasn't the serial dater her mother was making her out to be, there had been only two serious relationships, Graham, and Daniel. The only relationship she kept from her mother was Jefferson, if you would even call it a relationship. What she and Robin had in their friends with benefits relationship was a billion times more than she and Jefferson ever had.

Henry coughs uncomfortably, opening the menu to search for a change in subject. "Now what looks good to you?" he asked Robin "I always get the crepes suzette."

"The lobster omelette caught my eye..." Robin said.

"So if I remember correctly, your father was in the air force? I know Regina told me your story before, the American with the British accent. " Henry jumps topics quickly, before Cora can interrupt.

"Yes, fell in love with my mother while stationed in the UK. They married, had me, and I lived on base for a bit. We moved back to the states when I was about eight. I still like to visit my mother's family there once a year, but it's harder now with work."

"And your mother made the transition from living in England to living here? She didn't mind leaving and following after her husband across an ocean?" Cora asks.

"My mother's resilient,” he tells her. "I never remember her complaining about a thing besides missing her family around the holidays every now and then."

The conversation shifts into more light hearted topics, mostly at Henry's direction, and Regina thanks whatever god there is that her father is on this Earth to make her mother a bit more palatable. Robin and Robin retell some stories about college, and she can tell her dad is watching the bantering, getting a sense for their obviously close rapport, as Robin jokes about Regina's little quirks, how she gets dressed up, even to go to a 24 hour diner, how she insists she doesn't want a dog yet continues to buy Archie’s dog toys whenever she is going to see him and has a picture of Archie's dog by her desk, Regina countering with a few well-time quips in his direction, drawing laughter out of her father.

The mood is somewhat broken when Cora orders champagne and Regina declines.

"It's one glass, dear, we're toasting to seeing you for the first time in six months, please join in the celebration." Regina groans, painfully aware that guilt trip was coming.

"I'll toast with water, if you don't mind. I'm not drinking right now."

"Ah." Cora looks over her and Regina starts to panic. "Are you on a cleanse? It's…." she sweeps another obvious look down her daughter's body, a disapproving look on her face. She grabs her daughter's hand and puts on that sickenly sweet concerned voice. "It's probably a good idea, sweetheart."

Regina starts to protest, but gives it up. What's the point? If her mother wants to tell her she's gaining a bit of weight, well, she's right. She's gained two pounds in the last three months and her mother is so fucking observant she'd noticed. Wonderful.

Robin has a frown on his face, as if he's thinking of what to say in response to Cora, and Regina tries to shoot him a warning look that begs him to keep his mouth shut. She thinks he’s going to say something anyway, but luckily burr father draws him back into a conversation about the Yankees.

They are halfway through brunch, and things are going well. Regina had expected her mother to be drilling Robin with questions, but instead she had let the conversation go, while Robin talked about his job with Henry, explained his major, his passion for the environment, how happy he is to use engineering degree to public service. One thing that must be clear from this conversation is that they know each other well and care for each other. It might not be a real relationship but they have a real friendship, and pretending to be more than just friends with benefits is easier than she thought. 

Regina is genuinely interested in what Robin says, she smiles proudly at him as he speaks, squeezing his hand gently as he answers her father’s questions about various EPA regulations. She had always known Robin was smart, that he was competent at his job, she knew he loved his job, but he rarely speaks about it in their circle of friends. Perhaps he doesn't want to brag.

Regina turns to catch her mother listening to Robin, with a look on her face that almost looks like approval, or at least, begrudging interest in what the man has to say.

"So I must ask,” Cora interrupts, "When did you two start dating?"

Robin smiles and places his hand on Regina's back. "Months ago, it sort of happened…organically. As if it was meant to be."

Her father nods as if he believes it. "You seem like you've been together for awhile."

"Regina dated Graham for… Regina, how long was it?" Cora looks at Regina for an answer she very well already knew.

Regina and Graham had started dating at the end of senior year of college. "Six years, mother."

"Yes, dating a friend after a six year relationship… I would have thought she would need more time to breathe than that."

"I guess sometimes I can surprise you." Regina shot back, staring daggers at her mother.

"Oh Regina, don't be defensive. It's just…unusual. That's what worried me about this arrangement. I wasn't expecting my daughter to be in a serious relationship so quickly after getting out of such a long, bad one."

"I understand," Robin’s teeth clench together as he tries to smile.

"And you two being so close, did Regina tell you why Graham left?"

"Mom, please, I don't want to discuss this in public—" her mother waves her off, concentrating on Robin.

"She did," Robin answered cooly, picking up his glass of champagne.

"And you know about her… diagnosis?"

"This is highly inappropriate," Regina mutters, staring daggers at her mother. What if he _hadn't_ known? Would this be her life, had she not gotten pregnant? Would her mother be asking every boyfriend she met if they knew Regina was infertile? What type of mother _was_ she?

"I know all about it," Robin continues, "It doesn’t bother me." He looks directly at Regina, heartfelt. "It really never did."

"So you don't want children?” Cora presses on.

Reginas buries her head in her hands. "Oh my god."

"Darling, you said it was serious, and I can see it is. I only have your best interest at heart. I don't want to see you hurt again."

"I do want children," Robin says, "I always have. But there are lots of ways to have children, and I'm not egotistical enough to think they have to be biologically mine. And if I were Graham, I certainly wouldn't have been hung up on the biological factor. I hope he can't reproduce, if I'm being completely honest."

Cora laughs. Really _Laughs_. Regina almost forgot what her mother’s genuine laughter sounds like, not forced polite hums at cocktail parties. The sound of it has both Regina and her father wide eyed and slack jawed, trading looks with each other, unable to speak. 

Does her mother actually like Robin?

Cora dabs at her mouth and speaks. "Well I'd agree with you on Graham. I have no idea why Regina insisted on staying him for so long."

Robin must think of it as a dig at her (and it probably is) and she can see his mood turn sour. She didn’t expect to see Robin defending her over her choice to stay with Graham, but she seems she is about to.

"I would assume she spent time with him because Regina loved him, and she's a kind person."

"Love," Cora rolls her eyes. "People say you can't help who you fall in love with, but I disagree."

"Can we stop berating me for Graham already?" Regina asks. "It's over, I'm completely over it, and you are all right, he was a bad match. I just didn't see it. Let's move on."

Thats when it hits her.

Someone has ordered chicken and waffles (it's a deconstructed, fancy version on the menu, but it's chicken and waffles nonetheless) next to her. It's the smell of the chicken that does it – brings back the nausea she had hoped had all but gone away. She's running for the bathroom before she knows it, banging against tables on her way out.

"Regina?" Robin asks, but Regina is running past him, cannot even wait to excuse herself.

.::.

Well, this is awkward.

Cora keeps giving him that look, one of suspicion, distrust. It’s almost as if she knows Regina is pregnant, but how is that possible given that she only just reminded him that the very thing is an impossibility? He thinks she would have guessed it by now if not for that diagnosis. The nausea, Regina’s need to see her and prove that they were in a solid relationship, the refusing to drink....

"You know what's wrong with her. What is it?"

Well, Robin has no idea what to say to that, and he certainly is not going to wing it without running it by Regina first. He can’t believe the _If I unexpectedly get morning sickness in the middle of lunch_ scenario never came up in all the preparation they did.

So all Robin can do is politely excuse himself. 

"I'm sorry, Ms. Mills, I'll be right back."

He puts down his napkin and walks to the bathroom, grabbing a mint from the Maître D's stand and waits. After a while, Regina exits the bathroom sheepishly. He hands her the mint and she accepts it gratefully.

"Are you alright?"

"Yes, it was just out of nowhere with that smell, but I'm better now. Not well enough to withstand what's coming next, though."

”It won’t be that bad,” he promises, but Regina just shakes her head.

”Robin,” she warns, “she knows.”

Regina is so certain that Robin doesn’t try to argue reason into her. She knows her mother best, after all.

Regina returns to her seat to find Cora's eyebrow raised. "What's wrong, darling?"

Robin thinks that Regina could tell her it was the flu, or play dumb, but as soon as they went back to her parent's house she was going to tell them about the pregnancy, so what was the point in lying? He nods in her direction, urging her to just say the truth. 

"It's nothing serious, mother. I would rather leave this conversation for when we go home, if that is possible."

Cora's eyes widen. "Are you….but you can't be…." But she knows, she knows that is what it is "… _pregnant?"_ she hisses the word, and Regina places her head in her hands.

"We should talk about this at home."

"How far along? How did this happen?"

Regina answers in a hurried, angry whisper, "Just about twelve weeks...and I doubt I have to explain the birds and the bees to you mother."

"Don't you dare be smart with me right now," Cora says back in an angry whisper. "How, with your diagnosis—"

"The doctors don't know, it's a fluke, okay?"

"I am going to kill those doctors, they were highly recommended, oh, Dr. Patel is the best ob/gyn in DC, my ass. Unbelievable..." Cora quickly focuses her disappointment back to her daughter. "Oh Regina, I thought you were smarter than this…."

"Smarter than what?"

"It's one thing to have sex outside of a marriage, but unprotected, with a man you just started dating.."

"We didn't just start dating."

"It's Robin, dear," Henry says, reaching out his hand to cover her own.

"Why do you keep saying that, as if you know him? How are you so calm about this right now? This man… comes to see us, butters us all up, and now, we find out he's knocked her up, and…"

Henry nods and turns to Robin. "I agree. It was poor form on your part. Can we really believe anything you say at this point, if you're going to keep something like that from us?"

"Mr. Mills, I am so very sorry, but—"

"You can't blame him, that was my request, lord knows I wanted to avoid making the scene at your club that we're making right now,” Regina hisses back to the table.

It is true, people were starting to notice the mood shift at their table, people were making longer and longer glances into their direction. The comment seems to bring Cora back down to earth.

"Fine, I just don't understand how I raised you to be so irresponsible. To not even have the decency to use a condom…"

"Oh for god's sakes mother I had a two doctors tell me I couldn't have children, the only good thing about that diagnosis is that I thought I could enjoy sex without a god damned condom."

Robin grabs a glass of water and puts it to his mouth quickly to stifle the laugh that is bubbling out of him. He doesn’t think he’s ever been prouder of her for speaking her mind so bluntly against her uptight cunt of a mother.

That is _his_ Regina, all fire, all honesty, it was nice to see it for a moment, she so rarely showed that side of herself when her mother was around. It was enough to shock Cora and her father for a moment, though Cora recovers quickly enough.

"I don't need to explain to you the uses of a condom beyond birth control, do I? Regina, have you been—"

"I'm going to have to interrupt. Regina knew she had nothing to worry about the night we were first together. I'm vigilant with my health. And I love your daughter, I would never put her in harm's way. We both made and error in judgment, relied on her diagnosis, but we can't change the past."

They had planned to say they were in love, that it was real love, but hearing him say he loved her his voice free of any doubt made her feel happy, grateful for this man, even if everything he said was an act.

"Henry get the check. We'll meet you back at home. We're going to work this whole thing out." Cora pats her napkin to her face, and standing up said "I'm going to freshen up. I'll see you all at home."

Henry called for the check looking at Regina with….disappointment. And that is what seemed to break her.

"I am so, so sorry dad,” She said, "I didn't mean for this to happen, I just—"

"I just wish you would have told me sooner," he says sadly, looking at his daughter, sadness written across his face. "You've had to have known for awhile. I know your mother can be difficult, but I wish you had trusted me."

"And you," he turned to Robin, his eyes widening "I hope this wasn't an act. I hope you really do love her and support her, because if you don't….you've left her in quite the position, haven't you?"

Robin feels a twinge of guilt in that. Because to Regina, this is very much an act. To him it’s not, he would sacrifice anything, would do anything to be with her. And he doesn’t care about fooling her mother. But Henry, that’s a different story. The man is kind and genuinely worried about her. And now here he is, begging Robin to stay with her.

He decides to be honest.

"I have no intentions of hurting your daughter. I want to be as much in her life as she will let me. I am promising that to you."

He looks at Regina and smiles, grabs her hand and squeezes it. And she smiles back, but he can tell it does not quite meet her eyes.

.::.

Robin looks so genuine, and she wants to scream, to tell him he can't lie to her father, to call the whole thing off and just admit there's no relationship, there's nothing, and she's exactly as desperate and sad (and let's face it, slutty) as her mother thinks. But then she knows she will be at her mother's mercy, will be so easily beaten down she'll listen to whatever her mother decides to do to "fix" the situation, and the thought of being under Cora's control again is too much. She hates that she has to lie to her father. But she'd like to spare her child the torment Cora put her through in whatever way possible, and right now Robin was all that was keeping her from conceding failure and letting her mother run her life again as if she were a teenager again.

Henry tells them to grab their car and meet them at home while he waits for Cora, leaving Regina grateful she doesn't have to face her mother for a few more minutes.

"So" Robin says, breaking the silence once they are alone. "That went rather well, I'd say."

Regina shoots him a dirty look, but is unable to stop herself from laughing as she sees his amused expression staring back at her.

"Everything was going unexpectedly wonderful until that god damned person ordered chicken. It's really that person's fault, if you think about it."

"Definitely."

As they get into the car Regina leans back, sighing. "It _was_ going pretty well at one point. But you were laying it on pretty thick."

Robin shook his head, “Well other than the necessary lies, I was pretty truthful."

Regina shrugged her shoulders, recalling one of his lines. "You want to be in my life in any way I will let you?"

"Technically true." Robin responded, smiling. "I've already offered to marry you, remember?"

Regina rolls her eyes. "I'd like to see your face if I accepted that proposal."

Robin notes her discomfort and drops the conversation in favor of teasing her about the fascinating surroundings of New Jersey a bit more until they reach the stately mansion Regina has called home. 

Cora opens the door before they can knock, nodding and asking them to _have a seat_ at the dining room table that has been set for dessert.

"So" Cora says like a cat ready to pounce on her kill. "Have you given proper consideration to all your options, Regina?"

"I have, mother, my mind is made up. I'm keeping the child."

Cora walks over to grab a whistling kettle of tea, bringing it to the table and pouring it into the four, beautiful antique tea cups at every place setting. Appearances are still important, even if they were presently dancing around the subject of an abortion or adoption.

"Darling, being a single mother is difficult, more difficult than I believe you know, and…."

"She won't be a single mother." Robin reminds quickly. "At least, she won't be doing this alone. I'm going to support her and help as best I can."

"On a government salary?"

"Mother, do not insult his job!"

Its not as if Robin is a clerk at a post office, his job is prestigious. And a government job is rather coveted. But Cora would prefer that Regina date someone who has just inherited a job at his father’s fortune 500 job, so of course even a prestigious government job is substandard.

Robin keeps his cool. "I make a good living. And I didn't just mean that I would offer financial support."

Cora looks him over and then turns away and looks at Regina.

"If you are sure you're having this child, I think the best thing to do is move in with us. I will get you a job at J&J, there's some sort of public relations area we can fit you in. And you'll be well cared for, everyone will accept you. We can make up whatever story we can come up with to spare your reputation. You won't have to deal with the shame people will put you through for being an unwed mother."

"I am not running away and going into hiding. This is not the 1960s, and this isn't something to be ashamed of. I'm nearly thirty, mother."

Cora sighs, her fingers rubbing either side of her temples. "It's not just the shame… Regina, what are you going to do? I know you can't afford that place on your own since Graham left, it’s a coveted wealthy flat in a great building. I know you had mentioned getting a roommate, but with a child on the way you won't be able to get a roommate. You must have nearly ate through all your savings, what happens when that runs out in a few months?"

Oh god, she had hoped her mother wouldn’t mention this in front of Robin. She looks at him and realizes that he’s figured out how broke she actually is and all the half truths she’s told him since Graham left. That her cable "wasn't working" those few times he was over, her insistence on home cooked meals instead of takeout despite her nausea, her convenient insistence that since being pregnant she preferred the generic discount grocery store brand to her usual items at Whole Foods. She winced and gives him an apologetic smile. She didn’t mean to lie, but she was far too proud to admit her financial woes.

.::.

Robin feels like an idiot.

Of course she struggling financially before this. He always forgets that though she comes from far more money than he, her parents are stingy with their money. They didn't plan for this, Regina must not have wanted to admit the money would be a problem, and had hoped her mother wouldn't nail it right away.

He hates that she hid this for him but hates himself for not figuring it out earlier. 

"I can find a cheaper place,” Regina says slowly. “As you said, it’s a coveted apartment. I will have no trouble finding a sub letter, and—"

"Stay with us until you find a new place." Henry speaks up. " Gold lets you telecommute doesn't he? And Robin can visit on the weekends. It's a good solution, Regina."

Robin can tell that Regina is already seriously considering their plan and that terrifies him. Its only a matter of time before she is convinced and leaves him. Once Regina wolves back, he fearsCora will have her. That Regina wouldn't come back. He'd lose her to weekend visits, eventually to whatever custody agreement they had, while her mother set her up with wealthy older divorcees from the country club. It was all too much, and Robin is speaking up before he could think otherwise.

"Regina and I haven't formally discussed this, but I was hoping she would move in with me. I have a three bedroom townhouse to myself."

Regina keeps her face calm and serene and smiles at him as if it were a great idea. But under the table she digs her nails into his legs. She is not happy. Well, he was not happy with the solution her father posed. Robin wasn't going to lose her. This ideas of her parents was preposterous.

"Where?" Cora asked, surprised.

"It's in Silver Spring, which is…"

"Ohhh, I know where Silver Spring is," Cora laughed. "I suppose it's not that bad, it's not as if you have to worry about the school district. Is it safe there? I'll admit it's been awhile since I have had the pleasure of venturing out to _Silver Spring._ "

"Perfectly safe. I'm sure you're aware to Silver Spring went under a revitalization ten years ago?"

"Of course, but I've heard that went through with mixed success."

"You should visit my home sometime, I will show you the neighborhood."

”I think that’s a great idea,” Henry praises. “Honestly, Cora, you can tell they are in love and he cares for her, and they have the means to get through this. Or at least trying.”

"I still think you'd be better with us, dear." Cora focuses on her daughter, grabbing her arm so she could find Regina's hand. Cora draws circles on her palm with her hand, probably some technique she used on Regina as a child that she was hoping would still hypnotize her into agreeing to what she said.

"I…" Robin watches Regina swallow, fidget and then settle into her argument, "I have a job I like, friends, I have a life down there. I don't want to run away from it. I understand how these things were when you guys were younger but now it's hardly the scandal." She pulls her hands away.

"Do you two plan on getting married?" Cora asks plainly. She is proving a point, not really looking for an answer.

There's silence until Robin fills it. "I think that's a topic Regina and I should discuss ourselves, first."

"A child will complicate everything," Cora warns, "You may think you are in love now, but handling a child together and coparenting this early in the relationship? God help you two."

"It'll be a daunting task, no doubt." Robin concedes. 'But we have been friends for years and I welcome the challenge."

Cora groans. "Regina, I am going to have to insist that you—“

Henry clears his throat and interrupts, "Cora dear, she wants to stay with him, and he doesn't want to let her go. We're not going to convince them to do otherwise."

And Robin looks and watches something he never though he would see — the look of defeat spreading on Cora’s face.

He’s won.

How is that possible?

.::.

She is seething mad for the rest of the meal but cannot let on to the fact she is so. So Regina just smiles and saves the anger for later.

"We should be heading out," Regina says after a bit, standing up. I am sorry for dropping this on you, but there is no easy way to tell your parents about an unexpected pregnancy."

She hugs her father tightly, whispering how sorry she is yet again into his ears, then followed with a polite hug and kiss on the cheek of her mother.

"Are you truly going into the city, or was that part of the rouse?"

"We considered it. It depends on how Regina's feeling,” Robin takes the lead on spitting out their rehearsed answers, and Regina is grateful, because she still dizzy with anxiety and anger.

"Well you two take care, whatever you've decided. And Regina, I'll send you some nutritional advice for moving forward in the pregnancy. You have to stay healthy during the pregnancy, and you will get urges to overeat, don't' listen to those urges. Weight gain during pregnancy is difficult and I'd hate for you to put on too much weight…."

Regina nods, smiling politely and blocking out the nonsensical advice her mother has. She turns to look at Robin, surprised to see that her father had taken him to the living room and is talking to him.

_uhoh_

"Thanks, mom. I appreciate you sharing that with me" Regina says, "Please excuse me."

She walked up behind her father catching what he said.

"She's been through a lot, is all I am saying. With Daniel, I know in some ways she never really…"

"Don't. Don’t bring him up, please." Regina interrupts from behind her father, startling him. "This has nothing to do with him."

Her father nods, backing down easily. "It's just that…relationships are just easier when there's no strong feelings either way. You can live your life, you can be selfish. Recover quickly from a breakup." Henry looks in her eyes, smiling softly at her, and she knows he's talking about Graham. And he's not wrong, her feelings for Graham were never quite what they should have been, she never let herself get that close. But that had nothing to do with her pregnancy or her relationship with Robin.

"Dad, I don't understand the connection you are making…."

The old man pauses again, grabbing her hand. "I am not your mother. I know why you were with Graham, why you went from Daniel to something… easier. I don't blame you. But now, this is different, isn't it?"

Guilt flares up in Regina's gut again as she realizes they have fooled her dad, very, very well into believing she's passionately in love with Robin. How did it get to this point?

"It's just I don't want you to get hurt, sweetheart." He turned to Robin. "Be careful with her."

And with that they leave the beautiful home of Cora and Henry Mills.


	4. Chapter 4

There's a silent standoff in the car. Robin knows she's mad, and she is well aware he's not too happy at her at the moment either, but each are stubbornly committed to staying silent. That is, until Robin makes a turn off the turnpike.

"This is not the right way home."

"I thought we'd spend the night up here. I found this place – you said Jersey isn't entirely paved and I looked into it, and you’re right. This place is by a national park, I thought it would be nice to spend sometime around it. And there's a jacuzzi."

Regina rolled her eyes "I can't step foot _in_ a Jacuzzi for quite some time, I'm pregnant." She clenches her teeth. "I want to get home. Now."

Regina is livid, but it seems she won’t open the discussion and start this fight. Robin can start it.

With a deep sigh, Robin yet again concedes defeat on their little game – why he thought she'd be the first to say what is bothering her is beyond her. He knows how this works.

"You're upset."

"Yes, you're very intuitive. Turn around and take me home." Regina looks out the window, her body curls against the passenger's side door, as far as she can get from Robin while also being in the car.

.::.

Regina hates him right now. Except she does not. She hates herself. She did not want him to know about her money problems post-Graham. It is embarrassing and beneath her. She had been holding her breath, hoping it didn't come up this weekend, hoping her mother didn't put two and two together and realize she couldn't afford her place on her salary. But that was not very smart, was it? And now Robin had said they were going to live together. Proclaimed it without really asking her first. Trapping her. They weren't in a real relationship and this was just going to further complicate everything, completely blur the lines between them during a time when they should be clarifying their relationship as two parents living separate lives, not a couple.

She can hear Robin’s exasperation pouring out as he says, "As much fun as the next 5 hours sound in the car with you right now, I'm not much in the mood to drive back to DC."

Regina rolled her eyes and took out her phone. "Fine. Stop at the next rest stop. I'll get my own ride."

Robin snorts. "Come on, Regina, who is going to drive you from here all the way home on a moment's notice? Come on Regina—"

"Emma will do it," Regina snaps, and she watches the realization on his face because he knows she’s right. Emma would drive up to pick her up 5 hours away and turn around back for Regina.

“Next stop,” she directs, calling this a win.

.::.

He has 7 miles until the next rest stop to convince Regina to stay with him and talk this out.

"Why didn't you tell me money was tight?" He finally asks, "What was I supposed to do when that came up, Regina? You planned for everything. You planned for your mother asking about my dual citizenship! We went over what to say if she asked about our holiday plans post-child, for god's sake. But this? You didn't clue me in to what to do if _this_ ever came up."

"Yes, which meant you should have just shut up and let me handle it! And stop getting yourself involved and us getting ourselves into an even bigger mess." She still won’t look at him.

Robin still feels a bit foolish. She had been paying for an apartment herself, an apartment she used to split with Graham. Of course things were tight. He should have realized sooner.

Robin focuses on the road, his heart was pounding. There are two directions to go in response to Regina now. He could blow up at her – this was after all, her doing. She is the one who wanted him to play boyfriend with her, she is the one who kept this from him, and he drove all the way up to her parent's house to introduce himself and put on this farce for her, and now the one mistake he made - which, less face it, was less of a mistake and more of a nice gesture that saved Regina from caving to her horrible mother— is being thrown at him as if he were a monster.

He wants very much to scream at her right now, to let his temper take over, complain about how she was treating him after he woke up at the crack of dawn to put on a goddamn charade for her in front of her parents. But he knows she feels guilty about that already, and she is still very much pregnant. He isn’t going to upset her any more.

"Why did you want me here when you told your parents about the baby?"

"Honestly I can't remember why anymore," Regina mutters, still staring outside that passenger window.

"I think it's because you didn't want them to push you into a decision you didn't want to make."

"They weren't going to convince me to have an abortion," she groans.

"That's not what I mean. You didn't want our mother using the child to gain more control of your life, right? Everything we planned for – every scenario you brought up – it was all about trying to get your mother to stop trying to micromanage this situation."

"What's your point?" Regina shifts a bit in her seat, as if uncomfortable with where this is going. Robin takes his eyes off the road for a second to find her gaze had dropped from out the window to her lap. She’s playing with her hands a bit. He knows her well enough to know she is all but acknowledging he was right.

"I felt like you were caving to the idea of moving to New Jersey. That's why I said something."

Regina snaps her head up, and replies icily, "Well, I wasn't. I'm not as weak as you apparently think."

"It's not weakness, Regina. Your mother is a master manipulator. You've told me the stories. If she can manipulate leaders of congress it doesn't seem like much of a stretch that she can manipulate her own daughter."

"I wasn't going to move away. I just needed a minute to think of a plan – just a minute – and you jumped in and came up with the worse possible solution!"

It stings, being told living with him is the worst possible solution. Cut more than he thought it would, knocking the breath out of him and leaving him speechless temporarily.

"Plus," she adds, after a few minutes of silence. "I don't appreciate being handed charity from my best friend."

Being called her best friend both healed and hurt, at least it was something, but yet, not enough.

"If I couldn't make my mortgage, would you offer me a place to stay?"

"Of course, but it's not the same — "

"And would you feel like you were doing some sort of charity?" He asks, quickly, trying to hide his rising temper.

"No." She admits quietly. "But you didn't offer your place because you _wanted_ to live with me. you did it because you thought you _had_ to, but you don't. I'm not your obligation."

"For fucks sake Regina, sometimes I feel like you don't know the first thing about me." He growls. The idea that he didn't want her there and offered out of an obligation?

"What I'm saying is that if you were losing your house you'd have a hundred options of who to live with, and none of those roommates would have to change much at all, because it's not like you're pregnant or come with a child attached to you. But unless you're stupid, you know that by offering to move me in, you're basically offering to change your whole lifestyle."

"What lifestyle is that?" Robin asks, his temper flaring up in him, and he’s not sure he can control it anymore. "Give me a heads up, on a scale of 1-10, how offended am I going to be?"

Regina sighs, opting to ignore his sarcastic question. "I need a roommate who doesn't like hosting parties that go until all hours of the night, because I'm tired and find I need more sleep lately. Moving twice while I'm pregnant is going to be tough, so if I move in with you I might still be there when the baby gets here. And that means we'll have to baby proof your townhouse, which, frankly, is pretty much a bachelor's pad and I don't think baby gates will go with your particular design or lifestyle. You'll have to deal with hearing a screaming infant at all hours of the day and night. And I won't," her voice changes a little, sounds weaker, more hurt. "…I'm not going to be able to deal with the late night female visitors you have over once the baby is here, I don't want strangers in the house with the baby while I'm doing things such as breastfeeding….so…it'll change your nights out with the guys, or you'll end up having to indulge in some hotels, and this is a lot for you."

That does it, he’s lost his temper. He tries not to yell, tries to keep calm, but he’s been so, so, hurt by her, and she doesn’t even understand.

"Alright,” he nods, anger rising until his face is hot, “You outdid yourself. Insulted me more than I thought possible. Congratulations. You know after ten years I'd think you'd know me just a little but maybe you are just that self centered that—"

"Yes I'm a terrible person, and you just fucking volunteered to move in with me, real fucking smart. This is why this was a bad idea." He pulls into the rest stop about ready to admit defeat. Regina takes out her cell phone again, when she puts it to her ears he knows she’s already called Emma. If she leaves with her when will Robin even see her again?

"Don't tell her to come and get you yet." Robin asks. He parks and looks at her, pleads, "Let's go in and have a coffee and maybe you get yourself something to eat since you threw up your brunch."

He can hear the ringing from Regina's phone. She ignores him for a second, but Emma didn't answer, thank god, and Regina hangs up.

"Even if I call her now we have plenty of time to talk before she gets here," Regina reminds him. "Why did you stop here if it did not want to drop me off?"

Robin's fists are clenched, just a few words, making it clear she doesn’t know how upset he is, make his anger ride back up. She really doesn’t get it, how much he cares and how much the thought of losing her makes him feel. If he’s not careful he will blow up at her and say things that will drive her away for good.

What does he have to do to convince her he was ready to be a father? She is acting like he'd continue to be the man riding out his twenties with the usual Thursday night bar scenes, the meaningless women he would see (that he hadn't even missed since the first time he took Regina to bed, and he doubt he'd ever miss again), the ridiculous immature parties. Everything had changed the second he realized he was going to be a father. That should be obvious.

"Look, I really need to talk to you, and I can't while I'm driving, I'm getting too upset. Just come in with me for decaf coffee or something. Please?"

She nods, but still won’t make eye contact. She hasn't looked in his direction since they left her parent's house, and he wonders if she's afraid she'll get too angry if she looks directly at him, or if possibly, she's worried she'll _stop_ being angry if she looks at him. Regina's emotions are still very much a mystery to him.

When she first steps out of the car looking battered, Robin realizes how exhausted she must feel. Some of his anger dissipates as he realizes she appears just as upset and hurt as he is.

But then she's not paying attention and nearly walks into the path of a car driving by. It's a quick thing – Robin doesn't even think about it when he grabs her arm and pulls her back to him, for a second losing his breath at the thought of her being hurt. She's muttering something under her breath he knows must be along the lines of "I was fine”, but truly, he doesn't care how fine she thinks she was, and he doesn't care that they are in the parking lot of a very crowded rest stop, and he doesn't care that she is quite possibly, still irrationally angry at him.

He pulls her closer, into a hug, tightening it when she goes stiff, thanking the universe that she isn't trying to push him away, because he won't force affection on her but he doesn't think he could break away from her right now. After a few seconds that feel like eternity, she drops her head to his shoulder, and another long while before she wraps her arms around him, hugging him back.

"I'm sorry," he says. He truly _is_ sorry because he's upset her, though he has no idea what he's done to make her this upset. What he does know is he doesn't like it when she's this cold to him, and he'd do anything to prevent her from treating him as if he is nothing to her. It's an empty feeling, and a terrifying one.

"No, I'm sorry, " she says softly, snuggling into him.

"Regina…" he pulls back from the hug enough to meet her eyes, "I know exactly what I signed up for—"

"Let's go inside," Regina cuts off, and he realizes her skin is a bit flushed, can't figure out whether it's the unseasonably warm day or the fact that they are having a very emotional conversation in front of a very busy parking lot.

The rest stop smells like fried chicken and cinnamon rolls and air freshener all mixed as one, and Robin is suddenly worried for Regina, who's been sensitive to smells lately.

But she handles it like a champ, walks over to order a slice of pizza, which seems like a safe choice for Robin as well. They grab a booth near a corner, thankfully out of the way from the crowds and the noise of rest stop. God knows where all these people were going.

Regina looks down at her food, picks at it a bit, taking deep sips of her diet sprite instead. She won't meet his eyes. Robin grabs her hand, laces his fingers around her.

"The first thing I need you to know," he starts, "the thing that I thought you _already_ knew a while ago – is that I would _never_ take a woman home while you are there. And— I need you to know this, too, I'm done being the guy who picks up random women."

Robin knows of his reputation with women and he had taken a lot of gentle ribbing from Regina over the years. He had his share of women before, but he became known for picking girls up from bars after Marian broke his heart. Regina had witnessed him leave their group of friends on various nights for a new, just-out-of-college girl, attracted to him because he was subtle with flirting, very nice, approachable – easier than the your typical single guy trying to get laid. He has been told that he look like the type of guy who wouldn't normally go for a one-night stand, and that is probably why he had ended up getting so many. It had become a joke amongst his friends, who would Robin try to seduce tonight, and would he be successful?

There was something exciting and thrilling about it at first, but it had now become boring. The sex was always a let down from what he hoped it would be, and the last few times the evening ended with him regretting quite a bit.

She lets out a small laugh in disbelief, and he groans. "Truly. I was done with all that before I knew I was going to be a father."

That is when she turns to look at him, skeptically, with a doubtful small smile on her face.

"Truly, Regina, I was already getting bored before you and I…first ended up getting together but that sealed the deal. Have you seen me even try to pick someone up since we first slept together?"

Regina rolls her eyes. "I expected you to not continue that in front of me, given our circumstances."

"You can ask anyone, I’ve not been with a woman besides you since we got together. I’ve not even tried. It just is not interesting to me anymore. It stops being fun and exciting and new, and without those feelings, most of the time it's actually quite awful."

She laughs, "yes, sleeping with beautiful strangers uncommitted sounds horrible.'

"They weren't all that beautiful, and if you really thought it was so wonderful, you'd be doing it yourself every night."

"It's different for women." Regina reminds him, but there’s no bite, no serious argument to be had.

Robin squeezes her hand. "I'm not saying we were in a relationship, but I'm saying I didn't sleep with anyone else after I was with you because all of that is far better with you. I had already decided I was ready to try a relationship again. I only ever had this sort of hedonist phase because I had my heart crushed with my last relationship, and you know that."

"I do. I've been there, I just didn't really…sleep around much when I was getting over a broken heart."

"Well, you just slept with me."

That gloriously furious eye roll is more dramatic this time. "Graham didn't break my heart. My father already said it — I didn't have a strong emotional connection to Graham. I loved our life together though. It was…comfortable." Regina draws her face into a little scowl, searching for words. "When he left me, I was deeply insulted, and embarrassed and surprised. We were together for six years. I really didn't know he cared that strongly about anything, didn't even know how much he wanted a child. We had a good relationship, we rarely fought, we didn't need to be together all the time, it wasn't that exhausting all-encompassing type of love that I had with…" Robin knows she doesn't like to even say his name out loud because saying it brings back a flood of memories, but she manages now after a moment's hesitation, "Daniel."

Robin nods. The subject of Daniel always brought a reverent, somber mood. He didn't really know her well when Daniel's death was fresh, a sudden car accident, but he knew she hadn't handled it well, knew it contributed to the person she was today, though he'd never know the person she was before Daniel, so he'd never know the difference.

"I don't want that type of relationship again," She says softly, painfully. "I'm not making one person my everything again."

And now, she is making a bit more sense to Robin. Why she fights meaningful relationships, why she was sometimes so distant with him. She was fighting him - fighting _them_. She does not want Robin to become as important as Daniel. She is not truly emotionally stunted. She is just scared.

Now is not the time to convince her to get over her fears. So he shifted the conversation.

"The child is going to be your everything," he says softly, "I know you, you won't be able to help it."

"I know," she looks down again at her now-cold pizza. "But that's different. Children don't want you to rely on them, they just need you to love them and take care of them and they don't need to give anything in return. I don't need to worry about becoming too dependent on a child."

"Living with me won't destroy your independence, Regina."

She is silent, and he sees her wince ever so slightly, and oh, that’s it, that’s the problem. He rushes to reassure her that he won’t invade her space when she interrupts and explains, "I don't want you to feel trapped. I want you to be able to leave, take a breather from me, from us, whenever you want."

He frowns. In ten years of friendship he’s never really needed a break from Regina. Why does he need it now?

"I don't feel trapped. I'm truly excited about this child. And why do you want me to have all this distance from the infant whenever I want? Why should the baby only have to change _your_ life? Why can't it change mine too? And why can't I be happy about that change?"

"It’s a big change you weren’t expecting. Will was supposed to move in with you," she reminded him.

Robin shakes his head, exasperated. "He's well-aware I'm having a baby and he's already looking for a new place. Do you honestly think he wants to be a roommate to someone who has overnights with a newborn?"

Regina sighs. "I can't remember you ever mentioning that you wanted to be a father before."

Robin shrugs. "And never once have you told me you wanted to be a mother," he reminded her. "But I could have guessed it, from how you are with kids. And I've always wanted children. What do you think I was thinking about when I got a three bedroom townhome on the outskirts of the beltway all to myself?"

"To show off?" Regina suggests, causing him to laugh.

"Not _only_ for that reason, and not only because it was a good investment, and not only because my mother wanted me to use my share of my grandfather's inheritance well. I saw myself settling down soon."

She doesn't say anything, but finally begins to eat, which makes him happy. After a few moments of diving into his own pizza he speaks again.

"So, in summary. I want this child, I didn't want to tell you just _how much_ I wanted this child in case you didn't, I didn't want you to feel guilty about whatever decision you made, or whatever happened in early term. But the thought of having a child to care for, to teach, to love – all that makes me very happy. It's not a burden. It's a gift, Regina. And I was already breaking out of all those bad habits, because I very much want to be the dad this child deserves."

It seems like minutes pass with her staring down at her pizza in silence, before she finally speaks.

"I'm exhausted,” she says, looking resigned and still a bit cold, "Let's go to wherever we're spending the night.”

.::.

It's a nice cabin. It's not a camping cabin like she had feared. It's a home, in a little wooded area by a park, with exposed wood but with full amenities, a nice kitchen, a big tv, and a king size bed as well as a separate room with bunk beds, so she has the option of sleeping separately, which, under the circumstances, is probably a good idea (but let's face it, she thinks bitterly, she'll sleep in his bed because she hates being apart with him, because she's far too dependent on him because his smell and his arms are the most comforting thing she has in her life right now).

They had to stop for food on the way, or he insisted on it. He ran into a small grocery store and had haphazardly grabbed a few items for Regina and himself (really just dumped a bunch of items in his basket, god he’s terrible at food shopping), because apparently he's going to cook for her tonight.

It's the first weekend in October, but it feels like summer. When get into the cabin it’s stifling hot, and Robin immediately tells her there is air conditioning and rushes to find the thermostat to turn on the air. He looks nervous, unsettled, like he's afraid of her. Silly, she thinks. If anything he should know he has her wrapped around his finger. Even if it was a matter of pride, she isn't one for empty threats and when she told Robin she was calling Emma to come and get her, she meant it. But then the thought of leaving him, of leaving _them_ in such a bad place seemed intolerable, made her feel physically ill, and right then and there she knew she'd probably follow Robin wherever he led her.

And that terrifies her.

Robin is putting groceries in the fridge, and she shuffles off the bedroom to put her luggage away and to change out of her (borderline tight) dress into cotton shorts and a tank top, pushing her hair into a high ponytail. She suddenly feels lighter, more free, realizing the halter top had dug into the back of her neck, coughing her to develop a slight headache and some definite neck pain.

She walks back to catch Robin peeling off his shirt and undershirt, and is hit with a pang of arousal. She's seen him naked a hundred times but she never really gets tired of it. His tie and jacket are on the little kitchen table. He takes off his button-down shirt and undershirt and playfully tosses them both on the table from where he stands at the fridge.

"Putting on a strip show are we?" she asks, with amusement in her voice. She is supposed to be mad at him, for a reason she can't remember but she _is_ supposed to be mad at him, and she shouldn't be flirting with him.

He looks up, winks at her, "Now that we have a child to support it's time I get a second job so we can start a college fund."

Regina does her best to look annoyed, but she couldn't hide the amused smirk from forming at her lips.

"So what should my stripper outfit be? Sexy cop? Sexy fireman?"

Regina scrunches up her nose, shaking her head. "You? Sexy forest ranger? Sexy boy scout leader? Do they make tear-away khaki cargo shorts?"

He laughs. "Khaki shorts and tube socks, the sexiest of stripping outfits."

She nodded with a smile. "So, what did you have planned for us today?"

He looks back at the fridge with a sigh. "There's some hiking. There's a lake. I was going to see if I could coax you into a little hike and a little swim— I know how you feel about still water and bacteria and all that but…I thought I could be convincing…"

"I didn't bring a swimsuit anyway," she said flippantly.

"You left one at my house and I packed it for you. But, there will be time for all of that tomorrow. I didn't anticipate today to be as…draining. Physically and emotionally." He's looking at her in that tender way now, the look she both loves and hates. Hates because it seems too close to pity, or maybe because it just seems like he can see right through her. "You should sleep," he adds softly.

But no, no, Regina can't really sleep now. She said she was exhausted earlier and she _was_. She was exhausted from talking about living together, exhausted from fighting, but truth be told, the anxiety-riddled morning with her parents had pumped her full of adrenaline, and she was high on it now, unable to come down. Too riled up to fall into an easy sleep.

"I can't really sleep," she said, her hand finding the back of her neck, rubbing it to soothe the ache, "I'm too…."

"Tense?" Robin asks and as he walks towards her, his hand meeting hers behind her neck. That's not it, exactly, but it's somewhat true. She is tense.

"Sore neck from sitting in the car for hours maybe? Let me rub your back, it'll help you relax."

She doesn't argue, she leans into his bare chest and nods her head. He's walking her to the couch a second later and she sits with her legs sprawled out on the couch, her back to Robin sitting on the couch behind her, who never takes his hands away from rubbing her back.

Robin has good hands. He knows how to soothe her aching muscles. Probably because he had years of experience getting to know her body, especially in recent history. It's easy to get lost in the feeling, but it's not making her tired, exactly. It feels good. _Really good_. Oh god, a familiar tingly ache is setting in, and this is _too_ good. She should blame the pregnancy hormones, not her own heart. It's not as if Robin was trying to seduce her with a perfectly innocent backrub.

He pulls at her tank top, going to lift it – he's done this before, he knows it's better to rub her bare back, but he still asks "This alright?" and she finds herself nodding.

And when the tank top slips up, rubbing against all-too sensitive nipples on its way up, she inhales sharply to bite back a moan at the sharp pang of desire she feels, warmth spreading from her nipples to a lower, much more sensitive place. She squeezes her thighs together as an almost knee jerk reaction.

Hopefully he didn't notice. It would be mortifying if he noticed.

But he probably did notice, because he is Robin. He at least heard the damn-near gasp she made.

And his voice is smooth and almost concerned when he asks, "You alright?"

"Mhm," she responds tentatively. And she pauses, thinks of an excuse, but there is none. She decides to play it off as mild discomfort and says, "I'm pregnant, even the fabric of my tank top moving over my breasts is a bit much. I’m just really sensitive."

"Oh." He pauses for a beat before rubbing her sides, right by her breasts and she inhales sharply again.

"Good sensitive, though?" he asks, and she can almost hear the smirk he must be wearing now, can almost hear that smugness in his voice.

"Don't be so proud of yourself," she bites back, "It's the pregnancy hormones making me turned on at the drop of the hat, for the past few weeks it's like the littlest thing—"

"For the past _few weeks_?" He asks, almost angrily. There's a pause, and then his hands come from behind to stroke her thighs. She lets out another sigh, frustrated her body betrays her like this.

"Regina," he almost purrs as his hand makes his way up her inner thighs, caressing her, til one hand tugs at the hem of her tiny shorts, moving upwards until his hand is stroking her sex, clearly able to feel how wet she already is (her body betrays her in the worst of ways sometimes) — she can hear his breath draw when he feels her, and she's wondering whether she just ought to let this happen when he screws everything up and says, "Let me take care of you."

His words are like a bucket of ice water on her building desire, and she gets up quickly.

"I do not need you to _take care_ of me. I'm perfectly fine taking care of myself." She gets up, because he's not tossing her a pity fuck, not fucking her because he thinks she needs it.

He's walking after her, and finally grabs her shoulder, turning her to face him. "Okay, what is going on?"

"I don't want…" she gestures in the air to the couch, " _that_ because you think you owe it to me. Like you giving me a happy ending after a backrub. I just—look, it's only good for me if you want it too, and you haven't really wanted me –"

Robin lets out a guffaw at that moment.

"I haven't wanted you?"

"You haven't even tried to touch me since I told you about the baby, and I get that things are different, and _I'm_ different, I'm not upset about it or anything…"

"I haven't touched you because I don't know the rules here. And there was never a good time to bring this up. You were sick. And sad. And nervous. And—"

"And I was getting fat," she finishes for him, walking to the kitchen, for what reason she didn't know, she just couldn't look at him and be near him while they talked about this.

But he follows her into the kitchen, laughing – _laughing_ at what she said.

"Regina, you look exactly the same."

She rolls her eyes.

"Come with me a second," He holds out her hand.

Sheer curiosity has her taking his hand and following him. He sits on the couch, directing her to stand in front of him between his legs. She feigns a minor protest but his eyes plead her to stay.

"Indulge me for a second," he says, taking each of her hands in his own hands.

"I don't know what you see in the mirror," he says, smiling at her, "but you're going to get bigger, you will. You're carrying a child. But the thing is, you haven't really changed at all yet."

He moves her hands over her thighs. "Same legs."

Over her hips.

"Same hips."

Reaches around behind so she's touching her ass

"Same great ass."

She laughs as he moves her hands over her breasts.

"Those are bigger, I'll give you that, but that's not really a bad thing."

She bites her lip, and then moves his hands down to her stomach.

You couldn't really see the difference, oh, but you could feel it. She presses his hands against her firmly, against the soft skin of her stomach. It is softer, fluffier than it was before her pregnancy. Her stomach used to be as flat as a board, with maybe a thin soft layer over it, just a soft layer of skin under hard abs.

Now, it was very soft, and there was a roundness to it, a puffiness overall. She sees Robin smile in acknowledgement. He notices the difference, too.

"Okay, you feel softer, but you look the same. And soon you're going to get bigger but honestly Regina," he takes a deep breath in, sighing and adding sweetly. "this pregnancy isn't going to stop me from wanting to fuck you all the time.”

She laughs, this annoying girly giggle she tries to stifle. She had expected kind words and delicate promises, not a promise about how badly he wants sex. It throws her off in the best of ways, flatters her and makes her happy.

He must see the shift in her mood so he adds, “I don't know anything that would change how incredibly attracted and aroused I am by you. Always.”

That’s enough to snap her out of it. Because how the fuck can he tell her how badly she turns him on when he’s been treating her like she has some sort of terminal disease lately? He’s rejected her so many times, made her feel entirely unwanted.

She wants to tell him all of this, but all she can say without getting too angry is, “Bullshit. For weeks you haven't even—"

"For weeks you've been driving me crazy." He finishes for her.

Regina just glares at him. He’s lying, he has to be..

"You barely even look at me. You practically jump in the other direction when I’m close to you. It’s fine, Robin, I don’t do it for you right now, I get it, you don’t have to lie.”

Now he is the one who looks angry, though he doesn’t have a right to be. She crosses her arms protectively around her middle and looks at him, braced for a fight.

.::.

Fucking hell, Regina.

Sometimes he can’t even understand how someone who knows him so well can read him so poorly. Not on all things, she knows him so well on other things, but she has this huge blind spot when it comes to how he feels about her.

It’s a bit too much to tell her without giving away that what he feels for her is much deeper and more meaningful than pure lust, so Robin takes the bullet and decides to confess something a bit less likely to scare her away. He sighs and says, "You think I'm asleep while you're getting ready in the morning, but I'm not."

Her eyes widen for a second and then she cocks her head to the right and asks, "You've been _spying_ on me?"

"I've been watching you shimmy into those skirts and those dresses every morning, do you even know how sexy you are when you get ready for work? The little dance you do in the mirror each day when you're checking to make sure your clothes are spotless, making sure they fit exactly right, double checking your makeup, brushing your hair til it's just right…." He laughs, "It's sort of OCD, but I love it, and seeing you naked in between the occasional wardrobe change isn't bad either. Oh, and I got to see those little hints of cleavage weren't happy accidents, it's all quite contrived."

Regina winces, probably thinking of how she'd adjust her top just so, to make sure that only a hint of skin was exposed. Robin takes a bit of pleasure in watching her flush red.

Robin goes on. "That fucking beautiful black dress, with that square neckline," he grabs her hands, pulling her toward him, encouraging her to sit on his lap. She does, thank fucking god, straddling like he wants, needs, and gives him that timid, coy little look like she wants him to elaborate. "You were adjusting the cleavage just so, and you had…" he groans, just the memory of it, puts his hands on her hips and squeezes, "fucking lace panties and that little bra," his hands caress up and down her sides, she's melting into the touch. "I wanted to grab you, strip you out of those clothes, and fuck you right then."

His mouth is drawn to her neck, and she tilts her head to give him more access, her hands on either side of his neck. "Why didn't you?" she asks, a bit breathless.

"I didn't think you'd let me make you late to work," he growls into her neck as he plants kisses down her neck, onto her shoulder. "I regretted it, when you bent over in the mirror to adjust your makeup right before you left and your ass…" he gropes her ass greedily just then pushing her closer towards him, towards where he's already hard for her. "Your ass in that dress… it's a good thing we don't work together because I would never get anything done if you were around me all day."

None of what he's saying is an exaggeration or untruth, and she's pushed up and straddling his erection now, and she knows, knows he wants her. It's a nice feeling, especially with all the anxiety her changing body has given her over the past month.

"I still thought about you all that day,” he moans, god the memory of it alone is enough to make him ache with need. Her face twists in pleasure as her hips rocked against him, rubbing against the length of him, and it is perfect, touching him this way again after what seemed like ages.

"Probably would have just said fuck it all and would have tried to get you into bed that night," he tells her, his hands on her hips, guiding her as she grinds against him, and he's rock hard now, his breathing erratic and his face hot, fuck he needs her, "but you decided – god that's good – decided not to spend the night that night."

"I'm sure I would have changed my mind if – _mm_! — if I knew what you wanted to do with me," she rasps, her eyes screwed tight, god, he can already feel her through her underwear, she’s wet, warm... "I remember that day. I— I wanted it too. But then I just… caught a look at myself at the wrong angle and… didn’t feel good about what I saw.”

She is absolutely batshit and blind if she saw herself in that dress and thought she looked anything other than amazing.

“Love,” he thrusts up against her gives her ass a squeeze, “You clearly didn’t get a good look. I did, I memorized every inch of you, and you looked like sex on a stick.”

“Maybe to you,” she says, a bit breathless, she’s grinding against him in earnest now.

“Yes, to me,” he rasps, “And then you left me all alone. I had to rub off to the thought of you instead.” 

And something about that admission does something to her, has her settling into this, as if the last ounce of self consciousness leaking out of her.

"God I need you," she moans into his mouth between passionate kisses. She reaches down between them, fumbling with his belt, and he hopes she will just ride him just like this, on this couch, a nice quick, hard fuck would feel so good, he would make her feel so good, would take away the ache and tension of today’s trauma.

But then again, she deserves more than that. He hooks one of his arms under her ass, uses the other arm to brace against the arm of the couch, and he's rising up, holding her with him.

She lets out a little squeak, but her legs wrap around his bare torso instantly.

"Bed," he almost growls, and it's carnal and deep and needy. "It's been weeks since I had you, I want you in bed."

She doesn't protest, thank god, her arms wrap around his neck and she kisses him, as he tries to navigate an unfamiliar home to get to a bedroom.

.::.

It's not a perfect walk to the bedroom - Robin bumps into a wall and fumbles with the door to the bedroom, but it doesn't matter as he throws her down on the bed so hard she bounces up a little, and he leans down to kiss her belly button, his hands rubbing her clit through the shorts and underwear.

"God love, you're soaked," he moans, and she knows, would almost be embarrassed if he wasn't so enthusiastic about it, wasn't pulling her shorts and underwear off immediately, his head diving between her thighs, immediately licking between her folds and groaning in pleasure, sounding as he's deriving almost as much pleasure as she is from this.

He doesn't normally do this, he usually is all tender touches and slow when he's between her legs, so he had to be pretty riled up, and she thinks he's going to make her come fast, she's already far past the point of needing foreplay, and hopefully he isn't in the mood to tease her, because she didn't think she could handle it right now. But then his tongue is licking up her wetness softly, grazing over her clit with the tiniest pressure, and light, his hands are on her thighs instead of inside her, and it feels just good enough to build the ache to an unbearable level, and he knows what he's doing, knows it.

"Robin!" she says, and she’s surprised by the sternness in her voice. He chuckles into her, his breath warm and teasing on her clit, and it's sweet torture.

"You taste amazing," he mutters into her folds as he continues to tease her sensitive flesh, and she's close, so close it's painful. Her hands are in his hair now, tugging him up to her while her hips rock against his face, trying to get any friction to alleviate the sweet pain she's experiencing from being so close for so long.

Regina moves her hand from his hair to between her legs, attempting to finger herself while he teases her, but it's a hopeless endeavor, and he swats her hand playfully away before she can even try.

So he has decided to tease her, then.

She should point out the fact that the baby she’s carrying inside her is the reason she’s wet and aching right now, and in that respect, it’s all his fault and he better help her out, for fucks sake.

She’s entitled to be needy, she decides.

"I need your fingers," she begs, and she's panting and desperate. "Please, Robin, I'm so-, _mm_! I'm so close I want it so bad, I can't wait— _please_!"

He gives into her at that, because he loves it when she begs, and she knows that, knows him at this point, better than she knows almost anyone. When he hooks his fingers just right, changes her tongue to firm licks, and hard sucks, the pressure she likes, she needs…she has a flash of awareness that this is different than other relationships in her past. Robin knows her better in every way, better than Graham. But also, she can't deny, better than Daniel.

If she wasn't seconds from an orgasm it would have ruined the moment. She would have thought too much, focused on what it might mean that there was someone in her life who actually knew her so well – someone besides Emma, Emma, who only achieved such status because Regina was convinced she had a super power and could read her mind. But this, if she let herself dwell on it too much she’d know that this is a problem. She let him in. She let him get to know her in a way she swore no one else would.

But it helps that just then, he adds a finger, and she is hit with a wave of pleasure she can ride out instead of focusing on whether she was hopelessly loss to this man beyond repair. The pleasure takes over, and she focuses only on it.

His licks became stronger, focused directly on where she’s most sensitives, and when he adds short, gentle sucks her body starts to move of its own accord, and she cries out his name, too loud, she thinks, but then there are no nearby neighbors to embarrass her, so she can be free to be as loud as she wants.

She begs him to suck on her clit, moaning and writhing as he presses her up and over the precipice, reveling in the feeling of Robin's own moans against her skin as he licked and sucked.

He does not stop until she comes down from her high, until she places her hands on his shoulders and pulls, begging him to meet her for a passionate kiss. But then it is her turn to shuffle down on the bed, looking at him coyly as he leans back, placing both of his hands behind his head and smiling like he was getting some special treat.

Regina takes him in his mouth softly, and sliding him all the way down her throat before following with a hard suck, earning a loud _Oh God Regina!_ From the top of her bed, and she fights a smile at hearing it. He's a good man, Robin is. And she loves any time she can make him happy, he deserves it, whatever happiness and pleasure she can give him. So she takes him in her mouth deeply licking with her tongue up and down his shaft, reveling in every moan and word of pleasure that comes out of his lips, even enjoying the way his hips begin to thrust, as he tells her she's the best at this, that no one has made him feel better. She keeps her pace, a hand on his shaft to help as she bobs up and down, and she knows he's close and doesn't care, he could come in her mouth right now and she'd have enjoyed doing this, enjoyed herself.

But his hands reach the back of her head, trying to hold her still, moaning again before he pleads "Regina I want— want to – _god you feel amazing_ – fuck you."

She releases him and climbs on top of him, taking him inside her in one swift movement. Hearing his moans had affected her, and she was aroused and ready for him, breathing out a big puff of air as she took him all the way inside.

Robin was looking up at her, squinting a bit. "Fuck, I missed you. I missed this with you."

She begins to rock up and down on him, slowly at first, a bit self conscious as he looks up at her changing body.

Robin is probably too far gone to focus much on any one feature of her body anyway. His hands close tightly around her hips as she helps him move.

"Don't ever _–mm_ – don't ever take this away from us again. It’s too good, too— _fuck_ , Regina!"

She resists the urge to stop and tell him that she never took away their sexual intimacy, the ball was always in his court that he took it away from her. And she could remind him that this might never happen again, but even she doesn't believe that at this point. While she's pregnant, at least, it'll happen again and again for as long as Robin wants it to happen.

Until Robin doesn't want it anymore, which is likely to happen at some point in the next few months.

It's probably a bad idea to continue this, because everytime this happens she feels all warm and close to him, as if they were a couple, and they are _not,_ because she's not made for that, not made for the intimacy and love and coupling he deserves – not anymore, but she's going to enjoy this while she can. She keeps it up moving him inside her at just the ride pace, into just the right spot, until a particular zing of pleasure has her breathing out hard, lurching forward and placing both her hands on either side of his head.

"Fuck – sl-slow down, love," Robin calls out to her, fighting to keep his mind steady through this.

She doesn't want to slow down, she loves him like this when he's so close to the edge and making sexy, guttural moans while his face shows every pulse of pleasure going through his body. So she doesn't stop, keeps it up, until he puts a hand on her neck, another on her waist, and flips them, fast, so she's on her back.

He's looking down at her with a victorious smile and she can't help but laugh. He's going in and out of her at a torturous slow pace at this point, making her insides clench with the sweet ache.

"I'm not rushing this," He tells her in a throaty hushed voice, and it riles her up further, has her wanting a release now.

She whines a bit at the slow pace, bucks her hips and tries to speed up the motion, and it draws a smile out of him, far too adoring and sweet for a casual sex partner.

"Robin!" The tone of her own voice annoys her. She's whining, "Make me come."

Her request has him closing his eyes, knitting his brow tight, and then he pulls off and out of her all together. She sits up, broken from her lust-induced haze, a confused look on her face until Robin quickly replaces his cock with his fingers. She lays back down.

"Too close" he explains, a little breathless. "You feel too fucking good, Regina."

She hums a response, enjoying the moving of his fingers working her up and pushing her to her next orgasm. Her breathing gets faster and she looks up when she's close.

"I need you ins-inside me," she orders, thought it sounds more like a plea. She stills his fingers, drawing them out from her and pushes his length back inside her quickly. He doesn't go slow now, grabs both her legs and bends them at the knee over his shoulder. She likes that position, as ridiculous as it much look, it feels incredible, he feels bigger, and the angle is just right and -

"I'm—I'm going – oh god I — oh!"

He hasn't even been inside her for long, but she has been wound tight and needed this for a few weeks now. It's a strong orgasm, stronger than the first, makes her see stars behind her eyes and stays with her for what seems like minutes, as her hand grips his ribs tightly, a silent plea to not stop, to not let up.

"You feel so fucking good when you come," he moans, continuing the thrusts. "Fucking incredible," and he thrusts hard inside her again "Best I've ever had."

"Me – me too" she says. It falls out of her, she's honest and vulnerable mid-orgasm, but it's true, and she can't imagine he didn't know it was true anyway. Sex like this is much more rare than romance novels or movies would lead you to believe. Of course he was the best she'd ever had.

But her words must do something to him, because he groans loudly and then she can feel his erratic thrusts, and he whispers that he's going to come, going to come inside her so hard, and fuck that is hot, fuck, all she can do is nod and tighten her grip on him as he spills inside her.

When it's over he pulls out quickly and flops beside her on the bed, pulling her into his side as soon as he lays down, next to her. She moves to her side, wraps her arm around his torso, her hand moving to grab his. And then she moves off him and pulls, trying to get him to move to his side to spoon her.

But he wants to see her face, he tells her, so he pulls back, with that hand, encouraging her to lie against his chest. She goes easily, a wide smile on her face.

Everything feels almost too perfect in this moment. She's in her friend's arms, and he's gentle and kind and an incredible lay, and she's having a baby with him. On the list of things she'd never thought she'd have when she lost Daniel: a child, incredible sex, and a best friend. All of which she has now.

.::.

Robin looks down at Regina, all cuddled up around him a big, cheesy grin on her face. He loves her like this, looking carefree and uninhibited. Loves the way she draws him in close, the way you can almost see how open and unguarded she is. She's even more beautiful to him in these moments, so much he almost can't stand it.

"You're happy," he notes.

She hums in agreement. "Aren't you?"

He's drawing circles on her back now, lightly, as she lays on his chest. "Do I have reason to be?" he asks playfully.

She glares at him.

He playfully rolls his eyes back. “Come on. Are you moving in with me, Regina?"

She huffs out an exaggerated sigh, and braces herself on his chest, angling to meet his eyes. "Yes, you big baby. I'll move in with you."

His heart swells, relief floods him and he’s unable to keep from wrapping hsi arms around her and holding her tight. “I’m so glad,” he tells her, pressing a kiss to her hair.

She laughs and shifts to look him in the eyes, "You are going to regret this, just you wait."

He smiles back at her and shakes his head. She doesn't see the look of adoration on his face when he looks down at the woman laying on his chest.

"How could anyone regret more time with Regina Mills?"

"I'll remind you of that after we've lived together a week. You can ask Emma. I can be…quite particular about things."

He squeezes her tight. "This is not news to me."

She hums in agreement and presses a kiss to his chest, murmuring, "I'm really sorry, about all of this."

The unnecessary apology frustrates him to no end, because he truly regrets none of this and wishes she could understand. But instead he just holds her tighter, silently promising to be at her side through everything.

The rest of their time alone passes in the cabin, and it's healing, and intimate. He's all over her, to his credit making good on his promise to never stop wanting her _that way_ , they manage to get in a hike that morning, and it's gorgeous and beautiful, especially through the excited eyes of Robin, who has always loved the unspoiled outdoors. Regina seems to genuinely enjoy herself and forget about the stress that her mother has caused. The trip back home is spent planning how they will merge their two lives under one roof, where Regina's furniture will go, what they will do with two sets of dishes, and who has the better set of pots and pans.

It's a new chapter she's starting, she realizes. But not a bad one.


	5. Chapter 5

On Monday morning Regina heads into the office decidedly less miserable.

“So it went well with the parents, then?” Emma asks as Regina just walks by the door.

Regina circles back and leans against the office door frame.

“No, it actually went completely terribly,” Regina admits. “My mother was a monster. My father is disappointed. I had a sudden bout of morning sickness at brunch and made a spectacle of myself. It was complete disaster.”

“Really? So she figured it out before you told her?” Emma asks.

“Yes. At one point she chided me for being irresponsible and not using a condom, and I told her that the only good thing about being diagnosed as infertile was not having to use one. So... things went well.”

“Damn it, I wish I was there to see her face at that,” Emma groans. “Did Robin by any chance take a picture?”

“Haha,” Regina rolls her eyes. “My parents now think I’m very irresponsible and not capable of caring for myself, let alone a child. And I don’t think I can ever go back to the club again.”

“Then why are you smiling? You look like you just won the lottery,” Emma notes.

Regina tries to keep it casual. “I mean, the weekend as a _whole_ wasn’t horrible, not as bad as I thought.”

“Because of Robin?” Emma asks.

Regina bites her lip and wonders how much she wants to give away. She checks behind her to make sure there’s no one who could overhear her and nods.

“So what did he do to make you all sunshine this Monday morning? Or do I not want to know?”

She didn’t ask about the rest of weekend, but truly her mood had perked up around the the first time in the cabin (first of many, it turned out. And this morning, despite a mini-marathon of sex all weekend, Robin made good on his promise to approach her whenever the feeling strikes. She had showered, dried and combed her hair, then stepped back into the bedroom to find an outfit for the day. She was in the bedroom for less than a minute before she felt her behind him, hugging her and asking her if she had time this morning, because he wanted her, because she looked gorgeous in nothing but a towel.

She had to dress at marathon speed, rush out the door and apply the last of her makeup while on the train to make it in to work on time, but it was worth it. She had told him they had to be quick, but apparently Robin likes to be thorough in the morning, and Regina didn’t mind one bit.

A small part of her had worried that he’s been so vocal about his desire for her because he’s trying to compete with the voice in her head that says she’s ugly, that he’s not really this captivated and is just putting on a show, but honestly, if this is all an act he should make a profession of it because he is _quite_ convincing.

“I’m always in a good mood in the morning,” Regina lies, a coy smile on her face. “I don’t need a special reason.”

“Hmm…” Emma tilts her head inquisitively.

“What?” Regina asks, trying to figure out what Emma has noticed.

“I’m trying to figure out if he’s just that good in bed or if you’re in love with him,” she says, studying her face.

Regina’s cheeks heat. “Maybe it’s neither.”

“Or….. Maybe it’s both,” Emma counters, her eyes still narrowed.

“Emma,” she sighs, plopping down on the chair in her office. “I’m not in love with him. But, long story short, somehow he and my parents convinced me to move in with him.”

Emma’s jaw drops. “So you’re living together and raising a child with your not-boyfriend?”

“Correct,” Regina nods.

“And sleeping with him,” Emma adds.

Regina groans and ducks down into her hands for a moment before she decides to confess and explain. She looks up at Emma with fire in her belly, ready to argue her case. “Fine, yes. But you have no idea what pregnancy hormones can do. If _I_ was struggling, I have no idea how _you_ would react, you’d probably be humping furniture.”

Emma laughs too loudly at that, a very unladylike, “Har!” that no doubt is heard around the office.

The last thing Regina needs is people listening in on this conversation.

So she throws her an annoyed glance and walks up to close the door.

“So what? He’s okay with sleeping together even though you aren’t really dating? Wait, I just said that out loud and realized that of course he is. He and every man.”

“I mean I made him agree to not see anyone until I’m comfortable publicly announcing it over — when enough time has passed so people don’t pity me and whisper about how awful things are. So while we both aren’t seeing people, and we both have _needs_ —” she cringes and says in an even lower whisper, “I mean I’m pretty much a disaster at this stage of the pregnancy and Robin has a high sex drive, so… that being said, why shouldn’t we? We’re both very good at it.”

Emma smirks. “Are you?”

“Okay moratorium on the sex conversation for now,” Regina announces. “So, that was my weekend.”

“So Cora bought it? She thinks you two are dating?”

Regina nods. “And then they knew that I was struggling to pay the full rent since Graham moved out, and you know, added pregnancy expenses… so they suggested I move home. Robin offered his place when I didn’t shut it down immediately, and they all agreed that it was for the best.”

“Okay…” Emma shrugs. “But you’re a grown ass woman. You can always say nah, I just want to live by myself.”

“The thing is,” Regina grits her teeth, admitting something she hates, “I would need a loan of some sort from them to keep living in that apartment. Or a roommate. And I don’t know who I would find who would want to share an apartment with a child. I don’t know that _Robin_ is ready for that. But in the meantime, if I can’t take their money, I think splitting living costs with Robin is better. My apartment is letting me sublet, and there’s a long waiting list for my apartment so I can get out whenever.”

“Your parents are loaded, don’t you have a trust fund of sorts?”

“I do, but it’s heavily conditioned and not available to me until I turn thirty or get married.”

Emma’s eyes widen. “I have an idea!”

“No,” Regina shakes her head, laughing at what she assumed was a joke (but she can’t quite tell). “Fake dating is enough, I am not turning it into a fake marriage. Plus I’m pretty sure the fund comes with more obligations that I can’t reasonably live up to. I’ve basically written off the money. For now, I have a place at Robin’s. And maybe for a bit after the baby is born,” Regina scowls again, “Finding a two bedroom on my salary in the city is going to be a challenge.”

“Roommates will be tough to find with a newborn,” Emma agrees. That just makes Regina feel guilty, which Emma immediately picks up on. “Look, Robin is a smart guy, I’m sure he knows what living with a newborn will entail.”

“I’m not sure _I_ know what living with a newborn will entail,” Regina sighs, “let alone Robin. But whenever I remind him of what he has to give up he acts like I’m treating him like he’s dumb, like it’s obvious that he has to give up having the guys over to smoke a bowl, or some of the better parties we’ve had at his house before and after we go out. And speaking of going out, how much of _that_ is he going to be able to do? And after the baby comes… I mean I’m going to have to watch him _date_. He claims he won’t bring anyone home but… I can’t live in the house with him and watch him go out with beautiful women while I am breastfeeding.”

“Did he say he was going to start dating?” Emma asks.

“He said he was done with one night stands. And that he wants to settle down. So, yes, in a way,” Regina admits primly.

“And you have a problem with that?” Emma asks, her eyes narrowing.

“I am going to be jealous,” she explains, and when Emma looks victorious, Regina amends, “of _Robin_. He can date and move on with whomever he wants, but I’ll be stuck being single and having to watch him find someone years before I’m able to date again.”

“Talk to Robin. I don’t think he is planning on getting serious with anyone while his baby momma lives with him. He might try to settle down with _you.”_

“That would almost be worse,” she admits. “We start up a real relationship and we will end up hating each other forever. We are too close of friends to risk ruining it. And we care too much for one another. There are too many feelings to start a relationship.”

“Regina, most people would say feelings are an integral part of relationships,” Emma smiles. “Do I need to call Mary Margaret and have her explain that to you?”

“God no,” Regina groans. “And don’t tell her we are sleeping together because she will get all these ideas. And you know I have no intention of… getting into something like that. I just want my child and maybe what I had with Graham with someone a bit better than him. Someday, maybe I’ll go for it.”

“I think you’re being ridiculous,” Emma tells her, “But if you _really_ don’t want to be with Robin—“ _I don’t,_ Regina insists, “— then you better make that clear to him, because I’m thinking he might be in love with you.”

“After all these years?” Regina rolls her eyes. “I love you, Emma, but you can’t read Robin as well as you can me,” Regina counters. “We have been friends for a decade. I would know if he was in love with me.”

“No, you really wouldn’t,” Emma tells her, “So I’m telling you to be careful. It is at least a possibility.”

But Regina won’t hear of it.

“So,” Emma asks, her eyebrows wagging, “How is the sex?”

Regina bites her lip. “There’s a reason we had been hooking up for so long, okay? He’s the best sex I’ve ever had. And add the hormones and it’s a nice combo, okay?”

Emma nods, “Details, Regina. I want details.”

And the thing is, she actually wants to share them. She’s entitled to be proud of all the good sex she’s been having, isn’t she? To recount and relive some of the good times?

“Fine,” she whispers, “But do not tell anyone I am telling you this.”

She ends up spending another ten minutes having a completely inappropriate conversation for work.

.::.

It’s almost three when her direct line rings from a number she doesn’t recognize. “Hello?” she asks.

“Hello, Regina,” says a familiar voice from her past.

“Jefferson?” she asks, a bit bewildered. “How are you? It’s been forever!”

“Yeah,” he admits. “You know, your mom, um, said you might benefit from my experience? Whatever that means.”

Regina's cheeks heat. Jefferson is currently a single father of an adorable child. The mother abandoned them, and the pregnancy was _quite_ unexpected. Jefferson, luckily, had significant money to help him manage without her.

She knows that her mother adores Jefferson — his uncle is a senator, his father the CEO of a publishing company. They’ve run in the same circles, used similar lobbying tactics, wielded influence over DC together. Mother was thrilled to find she and Jefferson became friends. She didn’t know — and hopefully never would — about their brief fling, but oh, how she wanted them together.

This is a set up. Regina just knows it.

“Oh, did my mother fill you in on my very private situation?” Regina asks, a bit guarded.

“She did, and it was entirely inappropriate and you have every right to be mad,” Jefferson tells her. “But listen, I’ve been there — I’ve not had to deal with an unexpected pregnancy, but I have had to deal with an unexpected child. And it can be lonely and scary, but it’s also exciting. Anyway, I told your mom that I would offer myself as a resource. And that’s what I’m calling to do now. If you want to have a cup of decaf tea or share an early dinner and just talk… I’m here.”

“We’ve not talked in so long,” Regina says, a bit taken aback, “I’m so sorry I lost touch. I can’t believe how kind you are being after all this time.”

“It’s okay,” he tells her. “It happens when you become a new parent. I couldn’t go out as much, and my friends were my age. It was hard for me to keep up with them, too. You’ll understand, soon.”

Regina hopes she doesn’t.

But it would be nice to connect with someone going through exactly what she is.

“You know what, it would be wonderful to get reacquainted,” Regina tells him. “I’m a bit swamped right now — I’m in the process of moving and still battling a bit of first trimester exhaustion, but—”

“Oh, take your time. I’ll be here,” Jefferson promises.

“But,” she tells him, “we have this work event and are supposed to invite our best clients and any new prospective ones. Gold would shit himself if he saw you there.”

“I’ll see if I can make it,” Jefferson promises. “Will you be there with… I’m sorry, Cora didn’t tell me the father’s name.”

Oh, of course she didn’t.

“It’s Robin,” Regina chuckles, “Yes, _that_ Robin.”

“Oh!” Jefferson says, surprised, “I didn’t know you were dating.”

“Honestly…” Regina sighs, “I’ll kill you if you tell anyone, _especially_ my mother, but we aren’t really _dating._ We were, um, helping each other out?”

Jefferson chuckles. “No judgment. I get it. And now, are you serious?”

“We’re…” Regina isn’t sure how honest to be. “We are going to be roommates, and raise the child together, and… I guess the lines blur at this point.”

“Yeah, I remember all that,” Jefferson tells her, “It was unexpected with Grace’s mom, and then we fell into a relationship for a bit. It lasted for a while… someone carrying your child will do that to you.”

Regina grimaces. “Robin and I have been friends for years.”

“Right, I didn’t mean to imply it was just the fact you’re pregnant with his kid — just ignore me, okay? Anyway, I’d love to join you at the party. Send me all the information.”

“I will,” she promises.

They extend pleasantries and then say their goodbyes. And Regina finds herself a bit more relieved and a bit more worried.

.::.

Finding a subletter for her apartment takes less than four hours. The apartment complex has a significant waiting list of people who would love to get in, and the opportunity to take over her lease before starting a new one is the best way to jump ahead of that list. She texts Robin that she is moving in next month, if he’s alright with it.

He texts back,

_I’d rather you move in tonight :)_

She expected nothing less, yet it still makes her smile.

He follows up with,

_Seriously, move in little by little. I’ll help you get your bedroom set. But stay with me for now. I’m getting used to the company and am not ready to leave you just yet._

She doesn’t need to know that she desperately doesn’t want to be alone, that she’s terribly dependent on him, that she has strong feelings for him.

He doesn’t need to know any of it.

All she texts back is,

_Sounds good._

.::.

That night, Regina stops at her apartment and fills her suitcases with essentials. Robin drives over to meet her, and together they manage to take a portion of summer items, all she will need until the weather rapidly turns, and nearly all of her autumn and winter wardrobe, along with two nightstands, her pots and pans and a few cups and mugs, and a lamp that they were able to fit into Robin’s car with some tetris work.

“Later this week we can get the silverware, dishes, more shoes and the rest of the Regina Mills summer collection,” he tells her. “Then more lamps and other odds and ends, and by moving day there will only be furniture to move around.”

“What should I do with my living room furniture?” Regina asks. “My couch doesn’t fit your decor.”

“My basement furniture is shot,” Robin tells her. She crinkles her nose remembering the worn leather couches.

“I’ll toss it and you can move your stuff down there. Or… I’ll toss it and move my furniture down there. Your stuff is nicer. A bit more grown up.”

“It’s your house,” she reminds. “And this isn’t permanent. I don’t want you to go changing things for me.”

He clears his throat. “Right. Of course. But, still… if you wanted and it made you more comfortable…”

“Your furniture is just fine,” she tells him.

He nods and turns on the radio.

.::.

By the time they get back to Robin’s place, it’s after seven. She’s hungry and tells Robin as such.

“Can you wait an hour? I’m taking cooking lessons,” Robin tells her when they get to his house. “Online. Tonight I’m learning how to cook a pork tenderloin. Served with root vegetables.”

“Really?” Regina asks. “You have those items in your fridge?”

“I got the groceries while you were packing. I have to learn how to cook, right? Sit down and let’s see if I can feed you””.”

Regina says nothing, just looks skeptically at him. She didn’t expect this, truth be told. Robin is very skilled at a few things but he’s never tried to expand upon his _cooking_ skills.

“What other things are you going to surprise me with?” Regina asks.

“Well,” he tells her while setting up the kitchen, his laptop open, “you’ll just have to wait and see.”

She smiles. “Can I take a nap in your room? Wake me when it’s dinner time.”

Robin nods. “Absolutely.”

She changes into sweat pants and a tank top and nestles into Robin’s bed.

He has a nice bed — good mattress, firm, but cozy. The sheets and comforter are all soft and warm. It’s a good bed for napping. And sure enough, within minutes of her head hitting the pillow, she falls asleep.

She feels as if she’s only shut her eyes for a moment when he wakes her, gentle tousling her and telling her dinner is ready.

The pork is a little dry, the root vegetables a bit overdone, but the meal itself was not a disaster by any means. The flavor is good, and Robin looks pleased to be learning a new skill.

Maybe this can work.

“I talked to Jefferson today,” she tells him when the dishes are safely in the dishwasher and they are sitting down to veg out on the couch.

“Jefferson? I didn’t realize you are still in touch.”

“My mom called and told him I was pregnant and could use his advice,” she snorts.

Robin doesn’t find it as amusing. “Your mother is just telling people her daughter is pregnant? What about your—” he does his best Cora impression — “ _reputation?”_

Regina shrugs. “Jefferson had a child out of wedlock so perhaps my mom thinks he has no right to judge. Anyway, I invited him to this stupid work party I have in a few weeks, I was thinking you might want to go, too?”

Again, Robin is wearing that scowl on his face and she has no idea why.

“What?” she asks.

“Why didn’t you tell me about this party earlier?”

She shrugs. “I was on the fence about going. But then Jefferson called and, well, Gold would love the opportunity to do public relations for his company. It will help my career. Which means I definitely have to go to this now and I would love for you to come. As my date, I don’t think Gold will think you in a position to get him a government contract.”

“True,” he smiles, and settles with his arm around her. “But I can schmooze and play the role of the devoted boyfriend so when the news of your pregnancy comes out, no one will ask any questions or assume you’re doing things alone.”

Regina sighs and cuddles into him. “Perfect. Exactly what I want. Now, let’s find something to binge on Netflix.”

.::.

He’s not going to draw attention to it, but he’s worried about Jefferson.

He knows that’s who Cora wants someone like for Regina, and they share something in common now, so it was very clever of Cora to set them up.

He doesn’t like it, but he’s not the type of man who would ruin a friendship over his by acting jealous or insecure, even if that’s what he feels.

If he and Regina were actually together he wouldn’t feel this threatened. But they are not, and though they have an arrangement, he thinks if she found an opportunity to move on with another man, she would ask Robin first and he would have to tell her that it was okay. That she could date while pregnant with his child and living in his house.

Because he doesn’t own her and she is free to do as she pleases, they never agreed this relationship was as real as he feels it is.

So he’s going to deal with these feelings privately, try not to let his insecurity get the better of him. There’s nothing he can do, after all. If Jefferson is what she wants, Jefferson is what she should get (he has no fantasies of a world where Jefferson might not want _her_ , the man has always liked her far more than Regina could tell, and would no doubt fall back in love with her as they reconnect).

But it’s the woman he loves and his child, and Robin would just as soon be able to freely love them both.

He should be paying more attention to this series she picked for them to watch. If she wants to discuss it he can’t just admit that he’s been distracted thinking about losing her.

He presses a kiss to her temple and closes his eyes as she snuggles into him, her face pressed against his shoulder and arm wrapped around his stomach.

“You feel so good,” she murmurs.

He knows she means he feels good like a pillow, not good as in the kiss he just gave her brow was in any way stimulating, but his mind wanders into inappropriate territory anyway.

“You do, too,” he rasps.

And then she wraps a hand around the back of his neck and pulls him down into a kiss.

_Oh._

Okay then. Her arms start rubbing him, up and down his arm, then his torso… then her hand pulls at the hem and she sneaks a hand under his shirt, her nails scratching up his abs.

“I’m going to have to pause this show in a second if you keep doing that,” he warns, and because he told her he will always be honest on this subject, he adds, “You’re making me a bit too excited.”

Regina just hums, glances up and tells him, “Pause it then.”

He’s not sure how lucky he got to be in this situation where he gets to have her twice in the same day, but he’s certainly not turning down the opportunity.

He knows he’s satisfying a need, that it’s not exactly romantic right now, he knows when she takes off his shirt and licks up his abs that it’s about his body

He strips her of her clothing and kisses her into the couch. She’s bold this time, when he’s kissing down her chest she pushes his head down between her legs.

That’s an ego boost. She must be aching for it, so he shouldn’t tease (and it’s not as if he won’t ever have this opportunity again, she’s made it clear that this will be a regular thing, thank god). Still, he kisses and laves up her inner thighs, spends some time there first.

“Robin,” she squirms underneath him, “please.”

“Please what?” he asks, planting a sucking kiss right in where her thigh meets her hip.

“Please make me come,” and fuck he’s going to replay the breathy way those words fall from her lips for some time. “I’m too worked up for games.”

“You like this though,” he murmurs before licking through her sex, careful to only touch where she’s most sensitive lightly. She does like being teased, worked up for as long as they both can stand it. It always makes it more intense for her, and he’s loathe to give her a less than mindblowing orgasm.

“Things are different now,” she pants, “it’s more intense, too fast, just— please, just to take the edge off, can you… _Robin_!”

He certainly won’t deny her, and she sounds like absolute sex. He has to admit her asking for it in this way has him turned on to a criminal level, and she’s fucking soaked, so he presses a kiss to her clit and sucks it gently.

“Oh god, like that, that’s so, so good,” she moans, arches her back and presses into him, god she’s worked up like this.

“What do you need?” he breaks contact with her just to look up and ask. “You’re close, do you just want my mouth?”

She shakes her head frantically, even as he eats at her. “Your — _mm_ — fingers, please, I need… inside, go deep…”

He’s been almost as desperate for it as she has, they both went months without it and just broke their dry spell a few days ago, when she revealed she had been aching for it, quietly, the same as him.

It has been a bit like reunion sex, finding each other over and over in that cabin all night until they had passed out, only to wake up and start it up again, until they were both saturated with pleasure and loose limbed. He was on a high the whole way home, and wasn't surprised when she fell right asleep that night. And then the next morning, sex should have been the _last_ thing on their minds, but one look at her coming out of the shower, and it was like he had been denied of her for ages. He promised her honesty, so he asked to have her again, if she could, and he was half surprised she wasn’t entirely worn out, that she had been just as eager as him.

It’s a lot of sex in a short amount of time, but he’s been ravenous for it. It’s not just his own needs (though he certainly has them), but the intimacy of it is addicting, feeling her against him, seeing her all blissed out because of the things _he_ has done, convincing himself it means she cares for him more than she admits. He’s also been listening to her cues, following what she wants, and she’s been asking for him inside earlier during foreplay and just… more overall, and it’s been hot as all get out, being asked to be inside her, deeper, to take her harder.

Whatever pregnancy has done to her particular desires, he’s very grateful for it.

His two fingers slide easily inside her, and he angles and hooks them the way she likes, so they can go deeper, reach where she needs them to.

“There, — _god yes!_ — please…”

Her neck stretches and her head falls back as everything tenses and squirms, god, she’s so, so sexy like this, he has no idea how he was able to resist her for so long, so many years of not getting to be with her like this.

But he has her now, and he’s damn sure he’s going to make the most of it while he has it (and if he has her forever, he’s never going to take it for granted). So he feasts on her, thumps his fingers just like she’s asking for, matches his rhythm to the one of her own as she rocks into him.

He’s so hard he’s aching with it (he’s honestly surprised he’s this horned up after doing little else but fuck, eat and sleep for the past 36 hours) but she is so, so wet and so very into it, responding to every thrust _he_ makes, and he gets lost in, every ungodly sexy moan, every clenching spasm, fuck, fuck… oh god, she’s—

“Robin, Oh my god, I’m, _mm, I’m going to —“_

She’s given every indication that he is just a friend to her, one she enjoys sleeping with, but not one she has romantic feelings toward. But whenever they are like this, it’s so easy to pretend otherwise, when she comes around him like this, so fiercely, gripping at his arm, pulling him down so she can kiss him as she comes down from her high.

She _comes_ , and does so hard, the convulsions around his fingers strong and intoxicating as she gasps between kisses, still fucking moaning.

God, his cock is hard. Christ, he wants to fuck her into the ground

“Good?” he pants, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand so he can kiss her.

She chuckles, still breathless coming down from her high. “What do you think?”

He raises his eyebrows and smirks. “I know. But I wanna hear you say it.”

“It was amazing,” she sighs, urging him down beside her. “Thank you. Can you — do you want to—um, ...“

“You’re not asking if I want to have sex with you are you?” he asks, the amusement in his voice impossible to hide.

“I know, I’ve completely worn you out and it’s probably the last thing on your mind but—“

“My head was just between your legs, it’s basically the _only_ this on my mind,” he chuckles, guiding his hand down she can feel where he is hard for her.

He watches her flush red as she closes her eyes tight and then gives him a slow tug. “I figured your poor cock might need a break,” she giggles.

He laughs and takes a sharp intake of breath when she jerks him a bit faster. “Not from you, _mmmhmmfff_ — it never needs a break from you.”

“Really?” she asks, still stroking him at an increasingly steady. “We’ve never had this much sex.”

“Doesn’t mean I didn’t want this much,” he groans, “Darling, you’re going to have to take it easy on me,” he taps the hand she’s been using to tease him. “I want to make you come when I’m inside you and I won’t last that long if you do that much longer.”

“That would be unfortunate,” Regina hums, shifting and urging him onto his back, he follows her lead, let’s her position him on the couch and urges her to straddle him.

Her pregnant belly is visible now when she bends and stretches naked. It’s a small bump, but she’s so damn thin he can see the curve of it.

He won’t draw attention to it (he has the sudden urge to smooth his hand over it, just to feel it, to feel what they made together, but it might break her out of the moment, so he doesn’t), but it’s actually rather attractive on her in a way he never would have guessed.

She looks amazing from this angle, her tits bouncing above him, the hardened peaks of them unbearably irresistible, her little belly curving slightly toward him, and when she reaches for him, holds him in his palm, the stimulation is more than he anticipated and he groans deeply.

“You _are_ ready, aren’t you?” she hums, clearly pleased.

“Very much so,” he chuckles.

She raises an eyebrow, positioned so she’s hovering right over him all she’d have to do is lower herself and he’d be inside her.

“Please,” he asks, gripping her hips tight and urging her down.

She takes him in to the hilt, until she’s sitting against his hips, and fuck, she is fucking soaked, wet, warm, tight.

“That feels good,” she sighs, “it’s….”

He’s trying not to look at her too much (it feels too perfect) but he can feel the way she shifts. She knows his body well, and he likes to think they’ve gotten to know _hers_ together over the past few months, so she knows just how to tilt and rock her hips, knows how to angle him inside her to hit perfectly. She’s finding that now, and he remembers she wants to feel him deep, so he bends his knees and anchors his feet to the cushions underneath, so he can thrust back into her when she’s ready.

She slides him in and out slowly until her breath catches and she nods. “Oh, god, there,” she rasps, and Robin’s cock pulses and twitches at the sound of her, at the fact she’s currently bouncing on his cock, using his body to get off, and he’ll never, ever get tired of watching her do that.

“Robin,” she sighs breathlessly as she takes him in and out at a tempered pace, “I need — I want to go fast.”

He nods, squeezes her hips in agreement, and then she spreads her knees wider, and leans forward, pressing a hand on his chest to hold her upright.

“So good,” she murmurs, and fuck, she’s really into it now, her legs spread for him, one leg now off the couch, the other dug deep into the side cushions, taking him all the way in and out.

“God,” it takes him a bit, but he responds, then he’s thrusting back into her with every grind, pressing into the sofa and jutting his hips against her.

“Fuck, oh fuck, fuck fuck, that’s good!” And that’s a damn understatement, she’s incredibly tight and warm, she’s taking him all the way in and out on every thrust.

And god, she’s beautiful. When he looks up he can see that Regina has her free hand in her hair, wiping a lock out of the way, and it’s ungodly sexy, her breasts bouncing as stray locks cascade down from her hair, her face already dewy and flushed from this.

“You look so hot right now,” he murmurs, “Tits look amazing.”

“Robin,” she groans, “It’s so good. But I — harder, I want—”

He does, fucks into her as hard as he can, throbbing cock be damned, he’s going to keep it together, hold back until she comes on his cock and not a second before (but fuck as soon as she comes he’s going to, he’s so damn close already).

“That’s it!” she starts moving harder, letting out a string of curses under her breath, her eyes shutting tight as she moans his name (god he loves to hear his name) and he can feel herself tightening around him, getting closer, thank god.

“Wanted you so bad today,” she pants, and oh fuck, is she going to start dirty talking? How the fuck is he going to keep from spilling too fast when she adds this to it? “Thought about — mm! — this weekend. Got me all riled up.”

“Fuck,” Robin bites his lip hard, if there’s any possible image that can rival a blissed out Regina chasing her orgasm on his cock, it’s the idea of Regina being hot and bothered at work because of him.

“Emma asked about the weekend and then — _oh my god_ , Robin, that’s amazing — all I could think about was getting you alone tonight.”

Both his ego and cock are being thoroughly stroked, because he’s a god damned lucky bastard.

“You’ve got me,” he pants, “All of me, whenever you want.”

As if on cue she grabs at one of his hands and moves it to her breast.

Jesus fuck, he doesn’t have to be asked, he rubs and gropes at her, teasing the nipples and then she _really_ starts to lose it, starts to babble and gasp and cry out for him. He uses both hands, one on each of her perfect breasts, cupping and fondling while smoothing his thumbs over the peaks of them, lightly pinching on in between passes of his hands.

She is all breathy and high now, trembling on top of him, moaning _please_ and _just like that_ and _harder_ and her walls clench around him, she’s so fucking soaked, warm, wet, taking him deep and then letting him all the way out of her.

He can feel her soaking down his balls, and then that deep tingling starts in his groin and spreads up his spine, shit he’s close, his heart bounding, muscles tensed.

He moves one hand from her break to between her legs, his thumb finding her clit as she rides him.

“Oh — yes! God yes! Robin, Please, I’m going to — don’t stop, I’m going to—-”

He feels it when it happens (he can always tell, with Regina) she tightens around him, squeezes his aching cock in the most satisfying of ways, then there are these familiar, unpatterned little spasms that he is entirely sure he cannot live without, and all he wants to do is selfishly chase his release now that she has had hers, but she’s not moving his hand away from her clit, she’s pressing it harder, gasping about how good he feels, how hard she just came, how she wants him to rub her off too.

So she just came… all from his cock.

Focusing on that won’t do well, so he starts reciting football facts to himself as he feels that hardened nub underneath his fingertips while he rubs and strokes it, trying desperately not to think about his tight balls currently coated in Regina’s orgasm, or those little aftershocks of pleasure she’s been experiencing, the little tremors almost sending him overboard.

“You close?” she babbles between curses.

“Mm-hmm,” Robin hums, “So close.”

“Me too,” she promises, “I’m almost, oh!, I’m just gonna…”

She shifts, perhap to move her legs open wider, but whatever it does it lights her up, has her crying his name and begging him to press harder against her, that she _needs_ to come, that it is going to be so hard, and that —

She cries his name before a hissed out _yesssss_ of relief, and he watches the pleasure spread across her face, the way she closes her eyes, stretches her neck, the way she goes from shouting to a tense slip to almost this adorable little smirk when she reaches that peak.

This time, when she clenches around him, he doesn’t try to hold back (he’s done that enough, thank you very much). He just fucks up into her.

“Oh, Robin, that’s good, fuck me like you want to, get off on me — mm!”

He fucks into her with complete abandon, his balls tighten and throb, until that feeling in his middle starts to grow, warmth spreading in his belly and groin, and then he finally, finally lets himself go over that point of no return. He’s crying her name in relief soon after as his heart pounds hard, his muscle tense, and he spills into her.

Regina collapses on top of him moments after, his cocksliding out of her, wetting his stomach and hers as she adjusts to lay on top of him.

She doesn’t seem to mind at all, just cuddling into him closer, chuckling into his neck as she wraps an arm around him.

“You are far too good at that,” she sighs. “It's intoxicating. I feel like an addict.”

She laughs, and he does too, but he knows what she means. He’s been addicted to her for years now, and the sex is truly out of this world and perhaps if he wasn’t in love with her he would still want it all the time.

It’s definitely the best he’s ever had (his feelings for her play a role in this he knows). She’s said as much, too, though usually it’s something she’s said during sex. But he’s always believed it to be true for her as well. He’s had enough sex to know this is special. This is more. And it can’t just be one sided.

“We understand each other. And we have the same preferences and work well together,” he smiles, “In almost everything, actually.”

“Hmm,” Regina hums, kissing his neck. “I understand lots of people I share interests with. They don’t give me mind shattering orgasms.”

Robin laughs out loud at that, an unexpected, shocked, Ha! That makes her giggle in return.

“I’ve been thoroughly addicted myself, if you remember these past few days,” he reminds. “But if you’re wondering, I’m not at all worried about overdosing.”

He can almost hear the roll of her eyes but when she raises her head from his chest she just stares into his eyes, tilting her head and looking so sweet.

“Let’s go to bed,” she says after they drink each other in for a moment. “This baby of yours is wearing me out.”

“Oh it’s _my_ baby is it?” Robin smirks as he helps her up. He grabs their clothes, too, intent on tossing them in the laundry room on the way to the stairs. “I seek to remember you playing a role in baby making process.

“It’s our baby. But it becomes _your_ baby when it’s acting up,” she yawns. “Oh god we have to find out the gender, so I can stop calling the baby an ‘it’.”

“The doctor had a guess at the last ultrasound,” Robin reminds. “We could always ask.”

“He said they didn’t get a great look. I don’t want to get excited for one gender and then get disappointed when we find out they are wrong. I can wait a few weeks.”

“What do you want, anyway?” Robin asks.

“There are benefits to both,” she yawns, snacks her lips. “Whatever I am told, I know I will fall in love with the idea. I want them to be _right._ ”

“Okay,” he tells her, hiding his laughter, because his, she is so cute when she tries to control the uncontrollable. Pregnancy suits her in so many ways, she’s beautiful, gentler in ways, but bolder in others (like how she handled her mother) even her snark is somewhat different now. But on this aspect she is very much still the same Regina, wanting to control

He wonders if their child will be a stubborn control freak, too.

Oddly, he hopes that they will.

“Then we will wait a few months for the clear ultrasound,” he smiles, kissing her lips. “If there’s anything else we need to make you feel better, let me know.”

She pauses as she gets to the bathroom door, still naked (she’s not been self conscious around him at all since the weekend, he’s hoping it means she understands how gorgeous she is, or at least how enchanted he is with her). She leans against in the doorway as she tells him, “Just promise to keep putting up with me.”

“Easy,” he tells her.

Too easy.

He brushes his teeth next to her and washes his face, then leaves Regina to the rest of her night time routine (her facial care is a process involving oils and scrubs and lotions and masks).

He kicks on boxers and waits for her to come out, and then cuddles her close, his hands unable to keep from the little curve just around her belly button.

She chuckles. “Yours,” she says softly as he traces his hand over where the life they made is currently growing.

The single word touches him more than he would have expected it, more than it should, he swears he’s bleary eyed before he blinks and reminds himself not to place too much meaning in a sleep filled utterance.

She’s not his, but tonight, carrying their baby, sleeping in his bed, snuggling her back against him after sharing the evening together and of course the second intense round of sex of the day, well, she feels like it.

He might not have her love, or the trust fund or the approval Regina’s mother Jefferson has, but tonight, he tries to remember he does have her trust, affection, the child they share, a very nurturing and loving friendship. And having all that from someone who struggles to open up, to trust, well, that’s far more precious than anyone who doesn’t know Regina well could ever realize.

x


End file.
